The Cold Doesn't Last Forever
by elena6375
Summary: Expanded retelling of Frozen. The King was desperate to suppress Elsa's magic. Hans does not want Arendelle and is as emotionally stunted as Anna. Together the two travel to the North Mountain to bring Elsa home and the Duke of Weselton causes havoc in their absence. Kristoff meets and befriends the Ice Queen, showing her that she doesn't have to be alone. HansXAnna KristoffXElsa
1. Chapter 1

**Author's Note**

**So here is my attempt at a retelling of Frozen with some major changes. What if the King, Elsa's own father, had hated magic? What if Hans wasn't evil, just emotionally stunted from having way too many brothers? What if Hans had gone with Anna to protect her on the mountain and so she never met Kristoff? I wanted to explore these and so this was written. I didn't want this to be a word for word retelling so I try to stay away from that. I hope you guys enjoy it!**

**I don't own Frozen.**

* * *

Chapter 1

Laughter echoed through the empty hall, little feet crunched against snow and frost tinted the windows. The two Princesses of Arendelle fluttered around the snow filled ballroom, giggling and tossing handfuls of snow at one another. Anna poked her head up from behind a mound of snow, searching for her big sister.

"Elsa?" Anna said, not able to see her sister.

"Gotcha!" Elsa exclaimed, popping out from behind her.

The younger girl shouted in surprise and began giggling uncontrollably as Elsa tickled her. Anna's strawberry blonde hair was slipping out of her pigtails and her nightdress was damp from the snow. Elsa was breathless, her little sister's laughter was contagious and Elsa always enjoyed making Anna happy.

Life had become so much more fun for the sisters since Elsa had discovered last month that she had magical powers that centered on ice and snow. Anna and Elsa had been amazed when on Elsa's 8th birthday the sisters had been running around the garden when Elsa pointed towards her cake, she felt something strange flow out of her palms and suddenly her cake was covered in snow.

Their parents had been shocked, to say the least. The King had rushed over to grab Elsa and examine her palms before dragging the girl to the library and summoned a chosen few who were loyal to the crown. The adults had talked into the night and Elsa just wondered if they were almost done. Eventually, they couldn't come up with any explanation to Elsa's amazing feat and the King simply resolved to watch the girl to see if it was a fluke.

* * *

Over the next few days it became apparent that Elsa's powers were just beginning to settle in. She could create snow and ice whenever she wanted, freeze any liquid in her reach and entertain herself with the creations of thousands of unique snowflakes. Anna thought her sisters powers were beautiful and was constantly asking to play in the snow. For some reason Elsa couldn't understand, every time she used her powers in front of her parents, her father became angry and told her not to use her powers in front of people. It was for this reason the girls had snuck through the castle late at night to play in the ballroom in secret.

Elsa was now entertaining her sister by creating large mounds of snow to catch her as she bounced around the room. Anna was giggling enthusiastically as she leapt through the air. Elsa would send the magic through her fingers and fresh snow would appear ready to crunch beneath her sisters boots. But Anna was speeding up, jumping without any delay and she was only getting higher.

"Anna, slow down!" Elsa shouted, trying to catch her.

"Again, again!" Anna ignored her.

Elsa was worrying. She couldn't keep up. Elsa tried to push the magic faster, her hands thrown in front of her again and again. That's when it happened, Elsa slipped backwards just as Anna jumped from a snow stack that was 15 feet in the air.

"Anna!" Elsa yelled, and threw her arm out instinctively.

She couldn't help the magic that flew out of her fingers as she reached out, panicked. Elsa watched in horror as the swirl of blue magic hit her baby sister in the head and she fell to the floor. Elsa screamed her sister's name and dashed to her side, picking her up gently. The first thing she noticed was that Anna wasn't warm anymore. She was still, her eyes were closed, and Elsa watched as a strand of her sister's hair slowly turned white.

"Mama! Papa!" Elsa screamed, praying someone would hear.

"It's going to be ok, Anna. I got you." Elsa cried, unable to hold back the tears that poured down her face.

She was holding her sister tightly, hoping that her best friend would be alright. Fear was creeping in the longer it took for someone to find them and for the second time Elsa felt her magic spilling out of her without her consent. The floor frosted and cracked, displacing all the snow around the room, and pointed icicles formed on the walls seeming angry and threatening. Finally Elsa heard someone coming over the sound of her sobbing.

The door flew open and her parents rushed in. The gazed around the room in shock before the King caught sight of Elsa sobbing and cradling Anna.

"Elsa, what have you done?" He asked angrily, yanking Anna out of her arms. The Queen touched Anna's face before gasping.

"She's ice cold!" She informed her husband.

"I know where we have to go." The King said in a low voice. "Stay here."

He handed his youngest to his wife before dashing to the library to search to for the book that had been recently sent to him by one of his advisors. He plucked it from the counter and began flipping through the pages before finding the old map her was looking for. He ran back to the hall where he motioned to wife to follow him and roughly grabbed Elsa by the wrist and practically dragged her to the stables.

"Papa, it hurts!" Elsa whined as she tried to pull free.

The King felt a surge of pain as his hand was covered in ice so he dropped the young girl's wrist and pulled her by the sleeve of her nightgown instead.

"Where are we going?" The Queen asked, frightened both by what was happening to her daughters and her husband's mood. The King helped her up on to a horse and adjusted Anna in her lap before putting Elsa onto another horse and climbing up behind her.

"There are trolls living in the valley; they may know a way to help us." He replied, urging his mount into a run.

The family raced out of the city and towards the mountains. It seemed to Elsa as if they had travelled for hours when they finally reached a clearing and dismounted. The area contained many moss covered stones and it was warm here.

"Please, help! My daughter needs help!" The King exclaimed, it seemed, to no one in particular.

Suddenly, the moss covered stones began to roll and converge on the family. The rocks sprouted limbs and faces; the trolls were awake.

Elsa gasped and clung to her father's pant leg as the trolls began to recognize the King and waddled closer. One particularly old troll rolled to the front of the crowd and bowed to the family.

"Your majesty, I can sense a strange magic coming from your daughter. Was she born with the power, or cursed with it?" The old troll asked.

"Born, I suppose. But they only began to manifest recently." He replied. "Please, Anna was struck with the power. Help her!" He took Anna from his wife and held her out to the troll.

"Oh, she was struck in the head." The troll murmured. "You were lucky that it did not strike her heart."

"So you can help her?" The King asked.

"Yes, I can remove young Elsa's magic from her head, but I'm afraid I cannot undo the change that has already occurred." He said, pointing to Anna's new stipe of white hair.

"That's not important." The Queen said, shaking her head.

"But a bigger problem remains." The troll said. "Solving this incident will not prevent future accidents. I can tell that Young Anna is enraptured by her sister's powers and is too young to understand restraint."

"What do you suggest?" The King asked.

"I suggest we remove her memories of magic until she is older and can understand the dangers." He told them.

"Do what you must for Anna but isn't there anything you can do about Elsa's powers?" The King asked desperately.

"You mean bind the magic?" The troll asked. The King nodded. "No, magic is not so easily bound. Elsa's powers will only grow stronger with time so she must learn to control them."

"So Anna won't remember I have powers?" Elsa asked tentatively.

"It would be for the best, dear." The troll answered, smiling slightly. "This way you can have some time to learn control before you sister discovers your powers again. But you must be careful, you powers will grow strong."

He threw dust into the air that conjured images that bounced around the sky.

"Your power can be wonderful but it can also lead you astray. Fear will be your enemy, remember that and stay strong." He concluded.

Just then Anna began to stir so the King thanked the trolls for their wisdom and the family returned to Arendelle. As they dismounted back at the castle, the Queen looked to her husband.

"What are we going to do?" She asked.

"Well, you heard them. Elsa needs to learn how to control it." He said. "Until then we'll reduce the castle staff; only those who know about her secret can stay. We'll close the gates to the castle, and keep her away from others until she's able to control it. We'll have her stay in one of the guest bedrooms tonight and tomorrow we can officially move her into another bedroom. She should stay away from Anna too."

The Queen nodded, not wanting to second guess her husband. She took Anna, who was now sleeping peacefully and tucked her into bed. She walked down the hall to the first guest bedroom on this floor when she heard her husband speaking angrily and Elsa was crying.

"You need to stay away from your sister." He told her. "You nearly killed her tonight! We cannot afford for that to happen ever again."

"Ok, papa." Elsa sniffled.

"And from now on, you are not to use your powers." He said. "You must control them. You won't be allowed to freely be with your sister again until you have them properly under control. Do you understand me?"

"Yes, papa." Elsa answered.

The King left the room, shutting the door behind him and leaving his daughter alone in the dark room. He ignored the sound of her crying as he left and headed to his room. It had been a long night and he needed some sleep.

* * *

**I was always intrigued with the early lives of the Anna and Elsa and what could have been a motivating factor for their parents to lock Elsa away. I never really believed that they were great parents so I wanted that to be reflected here. Hopefully you guys enjoyed it and there is more to come. **

**reviews are appreciated and welcome.**


	2. Chapter 2

**Author's Note**

**Hope you liked chapter 1. This was already written so I decided to go ahead and post it. **

**I don't own Frozen  
**

* * *

Chapter 2

Months passed and Anna hardly caught more than a glimpse of her sister. Elsa now spent all of her time locked in her room and Anna couldn't figure out why. She tried to tempt her with drawings, stories and promises of fun outside but every suggestion was met with the same response.

"_Go away, Anna."_

She was getting very tired of that phrase. Elsa had stopped coming to meals, never left the castle, and even the servants avoided her room. Whenever Anna asked her parents why Elsa never played with her or came out anymore they always said just to leave her older sister alone.

As the seasons began to change, Anna never gave up trying to see her sister. At first she would spend hours outside her door, then when that became tiresome, Anna would wait until Elsa emerged to use the restroom and try to ambush her. During these time Elsa would always flee, calling for their parents until someone would come and separate the girls.

Eventually, Anna began to wonder if her sister's absence was because Elsa hated her. She began to spend less time outside of her sister's door and more time roaming the halls of the castle. It had been very lonely since her father had closed off the gates to the castle; the public never ventured in and foreign dignitaries were not invited to stay. The time continued until Anna could walk past her sister's door without knocking.

For Elsa on the other side of the door, things had been worse than simply wanting a playmate. Directly after being confined in her room, the guilt of nearly killing her sister had caused her powers to break away from her. Elsa would hear her sister when she came to the door and it nearly killed her every time she had to send her away. Elsa carefully avoided Anna, she took meals in her room, and held audience with her parents on the weekends which was practically the only company she received. When Anna started following her to the restroom, Elsa made sure that she only left her room when she was sure Anna was asleep or away.

The loneliness pressed down on her as she grew, making her less like the carefree and happy child that she once was and leaving a girl who was reserved, fearful and solitary. It became a daily occurrence to be criticized and corrected and that only fed into her fear. Every knock on her door was like a shard of ice in her heart and it wasn't uncommon for the King to enter Elsa's room and find the wind howling and the floor covered in snow and the walls covered in sharp icicles. Whenever this happened the King would always scold Elsa and urge her to control her emotions and suppress her powers. Elsa would always insist that she was trying but the King wanted results.

"Conceal, don't feel, Elsa! Control it!" He would tell her.

As she got older, Elsa's power started to manifest even when she was holding items in her bare palms. Every time she picked up a book or pen, it would immediately gain a layer of frost. Elsa also noticed when her sister's presence outside her door waned and she couldn't help feeling a bit relieved; at least Anna wouldn't be subjected to another near death experience at her hands.

The King gave Elsa gloves to cover her hands and the Queen gave her clothes that covered nearly every inch of her skin. This helped Elsa somewhat and after a number of years she was able to hold the magic inside her skin as long she didn't get overwhelmed or upset. Elsa spent most of her time reading and studying the materials that her father gave her to prepare for her reign as Queen. He would spent a couple of hours every night quizzing her about trade agreements and crop output projections. The only freedom that Elsa enjoyed was when she snuck out of her room late at night to roam the halls. Sometimes she just needed to look at some walls other than the ones in her bedroom. She never told her mother about her nightly walks, wanting to keep those stolen moments to herself.

It had now been nearly ten years since Elsa had nearly killed her sister and her 18th birthday was fast approaching. It was at this time in her life that she was supposed to be presented to the people of Arendelle as the heir to the throne and so her father was making multiple trips a day to remind her to conceal her powers. Unfortunately, each reminder just served to increase her anxiety and unleash more of her powers.

Late at night the King was watching as Elsa practiced her short speech. She was struggling under her father's fierce scrutiny, her voice shaking and the cards in her hand icing over due to her lack of gloves. The King sensed as the temperature in the room dropped and interrupted.

"Stop, stop." He shook his head. "You're not controlling it! Any colder and it's going to start snowing in here. What will we do if that happens in front of the kingdom, hm?"

"I'm trying." Elsa replied, shrinking back from his harsh tone. "But I'll be able to wear the gloves during my speech, wont I?"

"Elsa, master this without the gloves, you can't rely on that protection all the time. You know your mother and I will be leaving to finalize the new trade agreements tomorrow and your presentation ceremony is less than a month away." He snapped. He stood to leave. "We'll be gone for 2 weeks. In that time you need to practice. Once we return I will be checking to see how much progress you've made."

The King left the room, closing the door harder that necessary. Elsa flinched and some snow shot from her fingertips. She practiced her speech for another hour before deciding that she should take a break. She left the room and wandered aimlessly throughout the castle, trying to clear her mind. Voices interrupted her mood and Elsa could hear her father and mother talking. They were in the throne room and the door to the hall was open. Her father was upset and her mother was trying to calm him down. Not wanting to be discovered, Elsa turned to go back to her room when she heard her name.

"Elsa will never be ready for the throne!" The King nearly roared. "She has no control and she would be a danger to the country."

"Sweetheart, she tries her best and she has gotten better." Her mother reasoned.

"It's not enough!" He snapped.

"Well what do you suppose we do?" She asked wearily.

"Easy, we make Anna our heir." He stated.

"What?" She asked incredulously.

"It's simple. We announce that Elsa is ill; too ill to take the throne even into the future. We have her abdicate her position to her sister and we present Anna instead. No one in the kingdom has seen Elsa for the past ten years, it wouldn't be a hard thing for the public to swallow." He reasoned.

"But you've been working with Elsa for years, and it's her birthright!" She argued. "Anna has not had the same level of study that Elsa has!"

"She would be glad to make up for it now…" The King trailed off.

Elsa turned and ran from the hallway, being careful not to let her emotions run away from her or let her parents know that she had heard them. Once she was back in the safety of her bedroom, Elsa leaned back against the door and sank to the floor.

"Conceal, don't feel." She chanted. "Conceal, don't feel."

She was losing the slight control that she had. Even after all this time, after all her hard work, it wasn't enough. Her father was ready to give up on her, replace her, and make Anna his heir despite all of her work. A part of her could understand. She was a liability, a freak, and a real danger to those around her. She had worked hard to please her father by controlling her emotions but she was never good enough at it.

Elsa didn't react as snow moved around her and ice covered the door and floor where it come into contact with her body. What would happen after her sister had taken her place as the heir apparent? Would she be allowed to stay here at the castle or would they send her away? What did Anna have to think about this? Elsa had been studying all her life for her position as Queen and she knew Anna didn't have that same level of study. She supposed that Anna did have as many as 20 years to learn before she took over the throne from their father.

As Elsa contemplated her future well into the night letting her room freeze over completely. As the sun rose, she waited for her parents to discover her frozen bedroom. Elsa knew that they were scheduled to leave mid-afternoon and so, when the sun began to set, Elsa was certain; her parents had left without saying goodbye.


	3. Chapter 3

**Author's note**

**I don't own Frozen**

* * *

Chapter 3

Anna didn't understand what was happening. Her last memory of her parents had been one of brief hugs and well wishes as the couple left the castle to sail to one of Arendelle's trade partners. Now Kai, one of the few servants the King had allowed to stay in the castle, was telling her that her parents never made it to their destination and that their ship had sank due to an unforeseen storm. In shock, Anna had nearly fainted and was now crying uncontrollably. Gerda, who she had often thought of as a stick in the mud because she was always reminding Anna of the ways a proper princess should act, was now holding her comfortingly and allowing her to cry loudly all over her dress.

Anna hardly knew how to process this information and was barely listening to Kai. All she knew was that Gerda was holding her instead of her mother and that Kai was whispering comforting words in place of her father. They should have been back by now, and the three of them should be eating dinner together now. Anna should be asking them about their trip and asking about the coming party.

It seemed silly now that just before this Anna had been fretting over her older sister's coming birthday. It had been all Anna had been thinking about these last few weeks. Elsa would have been presented to the people as the next in line to the throne and there would have been a dinner. Anna would have been able to see her sister and now… Anna couldn't even bear it. Thinking of the party had Anna wondering about her sister.

"Elsa?" Anna asked, unable to say more than that.

"Princess Elsa has not yet been informed." Kai responded quietly.

"I- I should go with you!" Anna said, trying to stand up.

"No, Princess." He shook his head. "It would be best if I informed her alone."

"No! Elsa will be upset!" Anna said, her voice rising until she was nearly screaming. "I mean, who wouldn't be? Her birthday is next week! She shouldn't be alone!"

"I know, dear." Gerda soothed, holding onto the struggling princess.

"No! You don't know!" Anna screamed, finally breaking away from the older woman's grasp.

She tried to run to the door but Kai grabbed her and held her. Under any other circumstance he would never have tried to physically restrain any member of the royal family, but the princess was grieving and it would not be safe for her to be near her sister when she was told the news of their parents passing. After several minutes, Anna stopped struggling and simply sagged against him. Kai shifted the princess back to Gerda before backing away towards the door.

"I'm sorry, Princess Anna, but I must go inform your sister." Kai told her sadly, leaving her to Gerda.

Kai walked quickly to the eldest princess's room. Over the years, the King and Queen handled any direct contact with Princess Elsa themselves and had not allowed any of the servants to tend to the Princess unless it was to rid her room of frost or remove wet and soggy pieces of furniture. As much as the King wanted to hide it, the servants knew of the princess's ice powers.

Kai paused outside of the door, afraid to knock. It wasn't that he was afraid of the princess or her powers; in fact, among the 15 servants in the castle, only Gerda and Kai were unafraid of Princess Elsa. Perhaps it was because they had been serving the royal family since before the girls were born and so they were very fond of both the princesses. They both recalled how the girls would play in the snow together and, when one day Princess Anna's hair had a white streak and she suddenly didn't remember about her sister's powers, everyone knew that the King had found a way to suppress her memories. What they had learned later, however, was how much the King despised magic. Servants would walk past Elsa's room and hear the King criticizing the young girl and telling her how bad her powers were and that they needed to be suppressed.

No, Kai was most afraid to tell his princess that the only people she had contact with for the last 10 years were dead and that she and her sister were now alone in the world. Raising his hand, Kai knocked 3 times and waited for an answer.

"I'm busy, Anna." He heard from behind the door.

"It's Kai, your majesty." He replied.

Elsa startled at the unexpected voice. The servants never came to her room. Only her mother and father ever knocked on her door besides Anna. She supposed it was because her parents were still away that they came to her now but, for the life of her, she couldn't figure out why.

"Yes?" Elsa asked, her voice reflecting her nervousness.

"Highness, I must speak with you. It is most urgent." He told her. Elsa went to the door and opened it slightly.

"Yes?" She repeated.

"I must come in to speak with you." Kai stated.

Elsa was about to refuse when she saw the look on Kai's face. Whatever he had to tell her was serious. He mind flashed to Anna and Elsa worried that something may have happened.

"Anna?" She asked nervously.

Kai was briefly surprised; both sisters were so concerned with the other's wellbeing despite the many years that had passed between them. The longer he hesitated, the more fearful he could see her becoming.

"No, Highness. It is regarding something else." He told her.

Elsa released the breath she had been holding. She supposed that it couldn't be that bad as long as her sister was safe. Elsa stepped aside and opened the door wide enough for him to pass. Luckily, she had only been reading so there was currently no evidence of her power to frighten her visitor.

"Your majesty, there is no easy was to say this." He started.

Elsa was growing more nervous by the second and the temperature in the room was noticeably dropping as a result. Kai kept referring to her titles and it was something she was not used to. Especially with the possibility of losing them on the horizon. None of the servants ever spoke to her directly; they were all afraid of her.

"Conceal it. Don't feel it." Elsa mumbled under her breath, trying to maintain her control and instead replied out loud. "What is it?"

"I'm sorry to inform you that your parent's ship was destroyed in a late season storm." Kai spoke slowly. He watched as his words sunk in and the Princess's eyes widened. "They were not recovered from the wreckage. I'm sorry, your majesty."

He watched as the princess seemed to shrink in on herself. She grasped her sides as if trying to hold herself together. Kai felt the temperature in the air drop even more than when he had first enter the room and there was now a light snow falling.

Elsa was struggling to keep a lid on her emotions as she sensed the snow start to fall in her room. Conceal, don't feel. Conceal, don't feel. Her mantra repeated in her brain over and over. There were things she needed to know but she was currently having trouble forming a coherent thought as the news sunk in.

"Have you- have you told-?" Elsa couldn't finish.

"Yes, we told your sister." Kai nodded.

"And?"

"She was understandably distraught." He recounted.

"What happens now?" Elsa whispered.

"There will be a memorial service rather than a funeral since they were never recovered." He explained. "Then the advisors will see to the kingdom until you come of age on your 21st birthday and you become the next Queen."

Elsa's head snapped up at his last statement.

"But I can't!" She told him. Her heart was beating faster and the wind was beginning to pick up.

"It won't be right away." He tried to sooth her.

"But Anna was going to…" Elsa started. Her father hadn't wanted Elsa to inherit the throne.

"It is your birthright, your majesty, not your sister's" He told her, wondering why she would even question that.

The way Kai responded let Elsa know that her father hadn't taken the necessary steps to replace her before they left. Now she was destined once more to take the throne and considerable calm that she had experienced in these last few days disappeared. Elsa could feel her powers fighting to escape her.

Conceal, don't feel. But these emotions were too strong to contain.

"You should go." Elsa forced out. She knew any minute now she was going to lose it.

"Majesty, we are here for you." Kai reached out to touch the girl's shoulder but Elsa jumped back out of his reach.

"No! Please go! Before-" She broke off.

Kai sighed. He could see the girl's control slipping; the floor around the princess was freezing and the windows were now gathering frost.

"I understand. It will be alright." He turned and left her, shutting the door behind him.

Elsa heard the door shut and the precarious control she had on her power slipped. She collapsed to the floor and wailed, the tears freely flowing. The floor froze over completely and the walls sprouted icicles that spiked out dangerously. The windows cracked by the force of her ice and shattered. The door groaned as the frost seeped into the wood and caused it to warp and expand, tearing slightly from the hinges.

Kai had run back down the hall when he heard Elsa scream. He was shocked to see the door slightly crooked but he still threw his weight behind his shoulder and forced it open. Inside, it was virtually covered in ice and snow and he noticed that the windows were broken.

The princess was in the middle of the room and she was surrounded by scorch marks; it was almost as if the ice had burst forth from her like an explosion, staining the ground and walls. Kai had suspected there to be a blizzard brewing but instead it was as if the snow hung in midair, suspended by her grief. He rushed to her side and gripped her shoulders. She struggled at first but finally allowed him to lead her to the nearest seat.

"I'm sorry." She said reflexively. The King would always demand an apology whenever her powers broke away from her.

"No need to be sorry." Kai responded. "Let's go to another room for the night."

Elsa let Kai lead her to a fresh room and she laid down immediately in bed. Her guide began talking once more.

"I'll have your room cleaned up and fitted with a new door and windows before noon tomorrow. Someone will be up shortly with some food. Please try and eat." He said softly before leaving her alone to her thoughts.

Elsa ate little that night and slept less. She was still numb, but her outburst had provided her a couple of things. The first was some relief; the outburst of magic had left her powers feeling comfortable within her skin rather than the bursting dam it usually felt like. Second was Kai; he hadn't blamed her for all the damage that her room had suffered or the extra work that it would cause him. It was the first time in forever that no one expected an apology for her emotions, her powers.

* * *

The next morning, Elsa was able to retreat back to her room which had been quickly and impeccably restored. She was about to close the door when she realized that for the first time in ten years, the door was accented with colored paint. Closer inspection showed it to be decorated with snowflakes on both sides of the door.

"What in the world-?" She said under her breath.

"We figured that you could use a little something different to look at this time." Gerda said as she deposited a food try on the table.

"Thank you." Elsa said quietly, her eyes welling up with tears. Gerda gave her a warm smile and left her alone.

When she had shared a room with Anna, their door had been beautifully painted in bright colors and flowers. But when she moved out, her father had not seen the need to accent the door, let alone with snowflakes, the very representation of her powers. This small gesture, it seemed, was Kai's and Gerda's way of letting Elsa know that she was not alone.

Later that afternoon, Kai returned to give Elsa the details regarding her parent's memorial service. He had sent out letters to every foreign nation whose name had appeared on a list that the King's advisors had provided. The letter announced the passing of the King and Queen, as well as the announcement of Elsa's future to the throne and asked that the mourning be private and reserved to the royal family and the kingdom; this was not the time for anyone to come visit.

"The service will begin at 5 past midday tomorrow afternoon. Your mourning dress is here and we should prepare to leave 2 hours prior to that. You and Princess Anna will travel through the village and everyone will follow your carriage to the memorial site." He explained. "The priest will conduct the service and then you shall return home."

Elsa nodded and Kai left, satisfied that he had relied all of the details. While the oldest princess was silent through her grief, the youngest was needy. She seemed to follow the servants into each room as they prepared for the service and asked detailed questions regarding the preparations. The staff wondered if she was simply afraid to be alone.

The day of the service, Anna was dressed and waiting in the main hall for her sister to join her. After about 20 minutes one of the other servants came down the stairs and motioned for the procession to proceed.

"She's not coming, is she?" Anna asked.

"No, your highness." They replied somberly.

"Of course not. I'm going, so why would she bother to come?" Anna said bitterly.

No one replied, not wanting to argue with the princess as many simply assumed that it was circumstances of the day that was making her irritable. As Anna stepped into the carriage she stole a look to the window of Elsa's bedroom. Anna was surprised to see Elsa staring out the window and the two locked eyes for the first time in 10 years.

_I'm sorry, Anna._

Elsa hoped that her face conveyed her regret at forcing Anna to handle this alone but she simply couldn't face it. Elsa had dressed in the black dress and cape that Gerda had provided for her but when the time came to go downstairs she found that her nervousness flared and she couldn't stop her powers from making it snow. Knowing that it would be bad for the people to discover her secret, Elsa had refused to leave her room when they had come to collect her. She had been gazing out the window, wanting to get a glimpse of her sister when Anna turned and stared at her. Elsa could see the hurt in her eyes as she broke their connection and stepped into the waiting carriage.


	4. Chapter 4

**Author's note**

**I just wanted to thank everyone who read the first 3 chapters overnight. I had a reviewer ask how long I was going to make this fic and the answer to that is probably around 20 chapters. Depends on the flow of the story. **

**I don't own Frozen**

* * *

Chapter 4

The service had been long but complimentary to her parents. Anna had stood between 2 large memorial stones that were engraved with her parent's names and birth and death dates. As the priest spoke of the King and Queen's kindness and fair rule, Anna had stared into the faces of all the people who had come to pay their respects. Afterward, many people approached Anna with their condolences and one question was repeated several times.

_Where is Princess Elsa?_

Anna repeated the excuse that Kai had fed her regarding Elsa's whereabouts and told every person that Elsa was sick and unable to attend. The evening wound down and Anna found herself standing outside her sister's door. She had noticed that Elsa's door had been recently painted with snowflakes, a nice change from the plain wooden door that Anna had been staring at for years. Looking at the painted door broke through the resentment that Anna had been feeling towards her sister today. Suddenly, she was wondering how she was coping and knocked quietly on the door.

"Elsa?" She started. "Please, I know you can hear me. I was just wondering how you're doing?"

Anna waited but there was no response so she pressed on.

"The people were asking for you. Everyone's telling me to stay strong and I'm trying to, but it's hard to do by myself."

Again nothing.

"I'm right out here, Elsa! Just let me in." She said brokenly, leaning up against the door and sliding down until she was sitting on the floor and began to cry.

Elsa had heard when her sister knocked and was currently sitting against the door. Hearing her sister cry had caused her great pain and the snow was falling again.

"I can't." She whispered, curling in on herself.

"Well, why not?" Anna asked, startling Elsa.

She hadn't realized Anna could hear her. She couldn't tell her the real reason but Elsa hated hurting her so she decided to give Anna some semblance of truth.

"It would be…" She struggled with what to say. "Too much."

"So maybe we try just a little. Maybe just dinner?" She suggested.

Elsa hesitated. She hated telling her no, especially when Anna was in so much pain.

"Maybe." She agreed, not sure if she was going to be able to live up to the word.

"Ok!" Anna practically leaped up from the ground.

Anna rejoiced in this small promise. She couldn't remember the last time Elsa had actually answered her and she didn't want to scare her away. Anna smiled for what was probably the first time since the news of her parent's death. Anna was going to ensure that tomorrow night's dinner was perfect.

* * *

Anna sat in the dining hall, waiting. She had asked the kitchen staff to prepare Elsa's favorite meal and desert and had prepared two seats at the table and waited to eat until her sister arrived. An hour passed by and the food was cold but Anna was still sitting brightly at the table. A throat clearing behind her alerted Anna to her guest. It was the first time they had seen each other in years and both sisters seemed stunned by the stranger that was before them. Not one to allow awkward silenced to upset her, Anna jumped up from her seat and bounced over to her sister. Anna reached out to hug Elsa but she recoiled back.

"Maybe this wasn't the best idea." Elsa muttered, terrified at her sister's close proximity. Elsa couldn't risk what would happen if Anna touched her.

"No, Elsa, please! It's just dinner." Anna begged, sensing that her sister was about to retreat back to her room. "I mean, it's probably a little cold, but I had them make all your favorites."

Elsa hated refusing her sister, especially when she had promised to try. She nodded her consent to stay and Anna beamed. Anna gestured to the other place setting and Elsa was surprised to see that her sister had put her at the head of the table and seated herself to Elsa's right. Anna smiled brightly at the girl, drinking in her appearance. Elsa was wearing her platinum blonde hair in a bun and she was wearing a somber dress that covered her up to her neck Anna noticed that she kept fidgeting and so Anna began to talk, hoping her small talk would help loosen her up.

It was awkward for Elsa as she had spent so much time alone that she wasn't sure how to converse with Anna. Figuring she could avoid talking as she ate, Elsa uncovered her food and began to ladling a spoonful of her favorite beef stew into her mouth. It was slightly cold, as Anna had stated, but it was still delicious.

Anna was keeping up a constant stream of chatter which required no response from Elsa, reminding her of the first few years of their separation when Anna would simply chatter away to the door. Elsa couldn't get over how much Anna had grown. Her strawberry blonde hair had grown long and was styled into two braids which was a small change from the pigtails Elsa remembered. As Elsa continued her observations she spotted the white strand of hair that stood out amongst the rest of her sister's hair. It was a bleak reminder to Elsa of the last time they had been this close and Elsa felt her powers bubble under her skin and the temperature dropped.

"I can't do this." Elsa said, interrupting her sister.

"What do you mean?" Anna asked, hurt. "Elsa, wait!"

Anna watched as Elsa dropped her spoon and backed away from the table. Without another word, Elsa fled back to her room and shut the door. Elsa was struggling to suppress her emotions. Being around Anna was too much. The very fact that she was alive served as a reminder to Elsa's crimes and failures. Grabbing her favorite book, Elsa sat by the window and attempted to calm herself.

Anna left the dining hall fuming. She hadn't even bothered to finish her food; Anna simply sat stunned at Elsa's quick retreat. Feeling abandoned and nearly crying, Anna had run up the stairs and began pounding on Elsa's door.

"Elsa!" Anna shouted. "Open up! We need to talk about this!"

Inside, Elsa froze the book she was reading. Which was a shame since it was a really good book. She had never heard Anna beat so incessantly at her door before. Sighing, Elsa realized that she was nowhere ready to face her sister so she steeled herself to resume the quiet separation that they had been living for the last 10 years.

"Go away, Anna." She said wearily.

"No! Not this time!" Anna shouted back at the door. "Why is it that you can't sit through a simple meal with me?"

"Please, Anna. I just can't. Being down there with you… it was a mistake." Elsa said, thinking of how her powers flared just from being around her.

"So spending any time with me is a mistake?" Anna asked, not believing what she was hearing.

Elsa was about to say no, take back her words and reassure her sister that she hadn't meant that, but she stopped herself. Wouldn't this make their separation easier? Probably. So Elsa kept her mouth shut and simply let Anna come to her own conclusions.

"Fine then. Stay in there. I don't care anymore." Anna turned and left her sister's door, vowing never to knock on it again.

* * *

**So some angry Anna here. My idea here was that she was grieving and so she was taking things personally when usually she would have tried to give Elsa the benefit of doubt. **

**Anyways, I have today off of work so there maybe another chapter tonight if I cant finish it.**


	5. Chapter 5

**Author's Note**

**So here is the next chapter. It's back to work tomorrow so the next chapter should be up in a few days.**

**I do not own Frozen**

* * *

Chapter 5

Things were lonely within the castle again. The servants had known about Princess Anna's plan to reconcile with her sister but considering that Princess Anna was now irritable and spending hours in the gallery venting to the paintings, they assumed that she had failed.

As time passed by, Anna's anger at her sister's rejection persisted. It was especially difficult when her sister started emerging from her room to fulfill her duties as the future Queen. It started on Elsa's 18th birthday.

The kingdom's advisors insisted on continuing with her announcement as heir despite the timing of the last monarch's death. Anna had been forced to stand by her sister's side as she gave a short speech thanking the people for their condolences and for accepting her as the impending monarch. Elsa looked briefly like she wanted to say something to Anna but the servants whisked her away before she could utter a word.

* * *

6 months of silenced passed before Anna saw her sister again. It was late winter and Arendelle had experienced a particularly heavy snowfall. Figuring it would be nice to get out of the castle, Anna bundled herself up and went into the gardens but stopped when she saw that her sister had beaten her to it. Elsa stood with her back towards Anna, seeming to be entranced by the snow. Anna noticed that she wore no coat and that at least one of her hands wasn't encased in her usual gloves.

"Hey, aren't you cold?" Anna asked, causing Elsa to gasp and turn around.

"Oh, Anna." Elsa stammered, trying to put shove her hand back into the glove she had been holding with her right hand. "I didn't know you'd be here. I'll go."

"No wait, Elsa!" Anna sidestepped to put herself in the way of her sister's retreat. Anna knew she was supposed to be mad at her sister but there was always something about Elsa that seemed so lonely and Anna couldn't stand it. "You don't have to go. It's a big garden."

"Alright." Elsa smiled nervously.

She wasn't sure what to do now that Anna had arrived. Before she was simply enjoying the outdoors and the snow; something she hadn't been able to do unless she snuck out of the castle in the middle of the night. Anna was about to talk again when Kai came walking out of the castle. He gazed around until he saw Elsa and strode over.

"I'm terribly sorry to interrupt, but there is a trade meeting that you really must attend, Ma'am." He told Elsa.

Anna's hopes plummeted. It had really seemed like Elsa wanted to stick around. Part of her wondered if her sister had planned this but that thought was removed when she saw Elsa glance at the man sadly.

"Can it wait? We were just about to-" Elsa stopped talking as Kai shook his head.

"Unfortunately, no. The advisors are adamant that you begin attending all meetings to oversee the progression of the Kingdom prior to your coronation. " He explained.

"Oh, of course." Elsa stood and gave Anna a small smile. "I'm sorry, Anna."

"No, its fine. Really." Anna lied. She was disappointed that she couldn't spend time with Elsa especially since Elsa seemed like she actually wanted to.

Elsa sighed as she let Kai lead her to the study were the rest of the advisors were already seated. The first time she talked to Anna since their fight and she was forced to leave when it was going so well. Elsa gazed at her gloved hands. Anna had scared her when she first arrived and she had felt her powers flare, but then she had stopped, made herself focus, and she was able to keep the power inside.

Elsa had felt a distinct improvement on her control in the past couple of months and she knew it was mostly due to Kai and Gerda. They had taken it upon themselves to prepare her for her future as Queen by forcing her to deal with her duties head on. She didn't know if they were doing it on purpose or if it was just a coincidence, but being forced to speak at the presentation and being present at meeting after meeting was causing her to interact with people and it seemed the practice helped.

Elsa wondered what it would have been like to gain this level of control when she was younger. Would her father have let her out to play with her sister? Would he have been happy with her? A small nagging voice in the back of her mind said 'no'; that her father wouldn't have been happy until Elsa had learned to completely suppress her powers. Elsa was broken free of her thoughts when one of the advisors asked her a question.

"I'm sorry, what?" Elsa asked, feeling slightly embarrassed that she had missed the question.

"We were going to go over all of the trade agreements that Arendelle currently holds and wanted to know if you had any concerns." The man repeated.

Elsa held back a groan. This was going to take forever.

* * *

The next 2 years progressed much in the same way for Elsa as it had been for the prior 10 years, locked in a room. What made this different, however, was that she accompanied by her father's advisors and they were doing their best to impart every bit of knowledge they thought she needed before Elsa would take the throne.

Agriculture quotas, trade agreements, cultural festivals; Elsa's previous years of study paled in comparison to the information that was being crammed into her brain now. Elsa understood why; prior to the death of the last ruler, it was expected that the heir to the throne would learn all of this information over decades, not 3 solitary years. Once Elsa's coronation was complete, all the power to make Arendelle's decisions would pass to Elsa. From then on, the authority that had been awarded to them during her youth would be striped and they would only be capable to give advice, not sign treaties and agreements in her name as they were doing now.

By the time she had turned 20, Elsa was practically running the meetings rather than being the silent participant she had been when they had first started. Elsa felt more confident in her abilities to run the kingdom and her powers. And as long as there were no unpleasant surprises and she kept a level head, Elsa could go for a couple of days without her powers breaking away from her.

But now her coronation was closing in. In less than 3 months, Elsa would be taking the throne and that would require a celebration that involved all of her subjects, and various foreign dignitaries from neighboring kingdoms. By now, the guest list had been decided, the invitations sent and their responses received. It seemed as if every country was planning to attend since this was the first function that Arendelle had hosted for nearly 13 years.

* * *

Anna had been headed to the gallery when she heard a commotion coming from the direction of her parent's bedroom. Curious as to what was going on, Anna turned the corner to see a crew of workers gutting the King and Queen's suite. All the furniture had been removed and the color of the walls had gone from a warm burgundy to soft lavender. Bookshelves were being fitted to the walls and massive double doors where now accented with snowflakes. In all, the room was drastically different than the room she remembered her parents in.

"What is going on here?" Anna questioned. She looked around for someone she knew and spotted Kai.

"Princess Anna, you shouldn't be here while the work is being done. It's not safe." He replied.

"Yeah, but what are you doing to my parent's room?" She asked again, fuming. Kai looked surprised.

"These rooms are meant to be used by the current King or Queen of Arendelle." He pointed out. "Your sister's coronation is less than a month away; it is time to make preparations."

Anna scowled. For nearly 3 years, these rooms had been untouched and Anna had liked it that way. It gave the illusion that any moment her parents would exit the room and it would be as if the last couple of years hadn't even happened. But now it was changing and Anna felt an overwhelming sense of loss.

Anna left the suite and began to wander around the castle. Everywhere she saw changes that were in preparation of her sister's coronation. Anna had still never gotten more than a glimpse of Elsa here and there as she was dragged into various meetings. Deciding that no place cheered her up like the kitchens, Anna headed towards them figuring she could at least get a snack but as she slipped into the room, she was surprised at the sheer number of people who were bustling away. There was probably 20 people currently in the kitchen which was 5 more than the usual 15 people who serve at the castle.

"What in the-?" Anna mumbled.

"Princess Anna, this is not the time to be causing a stir here." Gerda said as she made her way to the princess.

"Gerda, who are all these people?" Anna asked, confused.

"Princess, the usual amount of hands would be insufficient to a party that is hosting approximately 100 guests. We had to hire some more help for the coronation." She explained.

"Oh, right. I guess it would be silly not to have more help." She agreed.

"Yes, everyone will be very busy with the preparations." Gerda hinted.

"Oh, well I guess, I better go…" Anna trailed off.

"I believe the seamstress should be done with your dress if you would like to come along and see it." Gerda offered with a small smile.

Anna nodded enthusiastically and followed the older woman out. Gerda knew that all these changes were hard on the princess. Especially, when so much focus was going to her older sister. Anna entered the room that the seamstress was currently occupying and was nearly bouncing with excitement. There were bolts of cloth laying everywhere and 2 mannequins were covered by sheets. In the corner were two women who looked to be mother and daughter. They had stood upon seeing Anna and had put down their work.

"Princess, it is an honor to be here." The older woman said nervously and curtsying.

"Oh no, please don't-." Anna began, about to tell the woman not to bother. But it only took one glance from Gerda for Anna to know that she should answer like a princess. "I mean, thank you. We're glad to have you here." Gerda nodded.

"We've come to see Princess Anna's dress!" Gerda said, making the seamstress smile.

"We hope you like it!" She said, moving towards one of the mannequins and removing the sheet that covered it.

Underneath was a dress that was a light green with accents of flowers for the skirt and a forest green fitted bodice. The neckline was decorated with small jewels and it had a bit of fabric that would sit at her shoulder rather than sleeves.

"It wonderful!" Anna exclaimed, jumping up and down.

"We're pleased that you like it!" The seamstress said. Anna eyed the other covered mannequin.

"Is that Elsa's dress?" She asked. The seamstress nodded. "Can I see it?"

The other women exchange looks and, at Gerda's nod, the seamstress removed the cloth that covered the other dress. Anna gasped as she saw the other dress. It was all done in a soft green with intricate embroidery and accents. The top of the bodice was outlined in gold but where Anna's dress left her neck and arms bare, this dress flowed into long black sleeves that stylishly covered almost every inch of skin. Attached to the dress was a regal magenta cape that flowed out as if the dress had a train. Overall, it was elegant, stylish and very appropriate for a new queen.

"Do you think she'll like it?" The seamstress asked, visibly nervous.

"It's beautiful!" Anna offered, still staring at the dress. She saw the women beam; their nervousness dissipating.

Anna knew that it was one of the most beautiful dresses she's seen but the truth was that Anna had no idea if her sister would like it. After all this time, they were strangers to each other.

* * *

**Ok, so I had a hard time writing this one. It would have been very easy to just stick up a "3 years later" tag but I wanted to show the passage of time and a few changes in the girls' lives that I thought were necessary.**

**The coronation is the next chapter. See you guys next time. :)**


	6. Chapter 6

**Author's Note.**

**Thank you to everyone who has read it so far! In this chapter we finally get to meet Hans! **

**I do not own Frozen**

* * *

Chapter 6

"You do understand what that means?" A stuffy voice asked.

"Of course." Elsa replied, her mind elsewhere.

The Bishop was walking her through the ceremony that would elevate her to Queen but they had been going over every detail for the past two weeks. Currently, the sun had set on her last day as a princess and they were still going over the details. By now, Elsa wasn't sure if she'd ever forget these instructions.

"Do you?" The man pressed. "You will have to hold the sphere and scepter in your hands…"

"Yes. I will receive the sphere and the scepter and face the guests as you announce me as the new Queen. Then I will return the artifacts to you and everyone will clap…" She was mimicking the movement but trailed off at the look on the man's face.

"Majesty, you must hold these items in your hands." Seeing she didn't understand it, he said plainly. "Without the gloves."

"Wait- What?" Elsa gasped. "But why?"

"The artifacts have always and must always make contact with the new monarch's skin. It is a tradition that has been in effect for hundreds of years and will continue, despite your… condition." He explained.

"But-" Elsa started.

"Majesty, your control has grown. We have every confidence that you can contain it for the few minutes it takes to hold the artifacts and name you as the new Queen." He tried to convince her with his smile but he could see her beginning to panic. "You have until tomorrow to practice." He nodded and left the study.

No gloves? Elsa wore the gloves all the time. She even wore them when she went to bed. Thinking of sleeping reminded her that it was getting late. How was she supposed to practice when she was told to get some rest for tomorrow? Ice began to spread from her feet around the floor. Gasping, Elsa ran out of the study and towards her room, trying to clear her head.

"Stop it, Elsa." She told herself. "Don't feel."

Halfway to her room she realized she was going the wrong way. It had only been about a week since she had moved into the royal suite. Turning and heading away from her old room, Elsa retreated into her new room. She looked around the large space until she found what she was looking for, a candlestick and a round potpourri holder. Elsa set the candle stick and round holder onto a side table that was beneath a portrait of her father's coronation. It was tradition to have this portrait somewhere in the next ruler's rooms. She didn't knew who had put it here but it was useful to mimic the pose as she practiced.

Over the next few hours, Elsa tried to practice holding the items in her bare hands. It only took seconds for them to ice over but Elsa kept trying. Why hadn't they told her sooner? Her father's portrait seemed to glare down at her and Elsa remembered his demands for control and suppression. Her control seemed to slip the longer she practiced which was worrisome since Elsa had believed that she had made great improvement in controlling her powers over the last 3 years.

Elsa glanced towards the coronation dress that was standing in the corner of her room. Part of the outfit was a pair of green gloves. What was the point of making those if she wasn't going to be allowed to use them? Elsa shook her head. She would only need to take them off once during the ceremony, she'd be able to wear them during the rest of the day. It was several hours past midnight when Elsa finally decided to call it quits. She put the now frozen items on the table and decided to let them defrost until she could resume practice in the morning. Elsa changed into her nightgown and all but fell into bed, too tired from her attempts to control her magic to worry about the next day.

The next morning, Elsa woke up due to a knocking at her door.

"Ma'am, it's time to wake up!" Kai yelled through the door.

"Thank you, Kai." Elsa replied so he would know that she was awake.

Elsa got up from bed, some of the panic from the night before returning. Figuring it would be best to dress first, Elsa entered the small washroom that was connected to her bedroom. She freshened up before slipping the gown over her head, attaching the cape and donning the gloves. Elsa began to style her hair, braiding and pinning it into an up-do that her mother used to wear. Any normal princess would have had a team to help her dress and fix her hair but Elsa knew that it would be too dangerous to let anyone else attend to her.

When she was finished, Elsa stood before the mirror. Her hair had turned out well considering it was the first time she had attempted it. Elsa heard some noise coming from the town so she walked towards the window. Outside she could see Arendelle's harbor filed with foreign ships as their passengers disembarked and headed towards the church. The streets were full of merchants and citizens as they prepared for the day's celebrations. Only the visiting dignitaries and royals would be invited into watch the ceremony and into the castle for the ball but all the citizens would be invited into the castle gates where a virtual festival was being set up. Towards the end of the ball, Elsa would stand on the balcony overlooking the courtyard and thank everyone for attending.

After that the party would end, the visitors would sail back to their own lands and Elsa could close the gates again. Everyone had agreed that this would be best. Elsa would handle the responsibilities of running the kingdom but the citizens would not be allowed to approach the castle without official business. It was all to protect them from their new queen.

* * *

Anna was savoring the day. She was in a beautiful dress, the gates were open and there were so many new people arriving. As soon as the gates had swung open, she had rushed out, eager to see the village. It was the first time she had allowed to wander. Well, 'allowed' was a bit of a stretch. Anna had simply ran out without permission, excited to see everything without an escort. When she was younger her parents had taken her out with them but it was always a very specific outing, to the baker or the jeweler's and they were always surrounded by guards. Once her parents had passed, whenever Anna needed something the goods were simply summoned. No more outings, no more discussions.

Anna pushed through the crowd, no one really recognized her anyways, and headed towards the docks. It was a beautiful day and she wanted to see the water and all of the foreign ships. She was practically singing and leaping with joy and so she didn't notice the horse that collided with her.

"Oof!" She cried, falling sideways into empty row boat. "Hey!"

"I am so sorry!" A voice said from above her.

Anna looked up to see a handsome young man with large sideburns looking down at her. His horse was standing with one foot in the row boat; essentially stopping the boat from setting adrift. The young man was dressed impeccably for a citizen from Arendelle so Anna assumed he was visiting from another kingdom. He immediately dismounted his horse and held out his hand to her.

"No worries." Anna told him as he helped her to stand.

Anna couldn't help staring at this new stranger. He was a head taller than her, had auburn hair and light green eyes. He was currently staring at Anna with a lopsided grin, seeming as stunned by her as she was by him. Eventually, he seemed to shake himself out of his daze.

"Oh, um. I'm sorry. I am Prince Hans of the Southern Isles." He introduced himself, bowing slightly.

"Princess Anna of Arendelle." She answered, curtsying quickly.

"Princess?" Hans repeated, surprised.

He dropped to one knee before the princess as was acceptable before a lady. He hadn't expected to meet one of Arendelle's princesses just as he disembarked from his ship. Let alone the possibility of running one over with his horse. Hans wasn't sure if this could be any more embarrassing when he felt the boat begin to tip towards the water.

"Woah!" He yelled as he fell forward and right on top of the princess.

"Oh, geez." Anna mumbled, surprised by this new position. It only last for a moment before the boat was shifted again and now Anna was on top of Hans. "Well, this is awkward."

"I'm sorry." Hans repeated, blushing slightly.

"No! It's not you. It's just that this is awkward. You're gorgeous. Wait, what?" Anna stopped talking, utterly horrified by her subconscious drabble.

Hans laughed as the both righted themselves. It was nice to know that she didn't blame him for this whole debacle. He straightened his jacket and cleared his throat.

"I want to apologize for running over the Princess of Arendelle with my horse and for… whatever this was." He gestured around the boat.

"Oh, no! You don't have to-" She broke off and walked around him towards the dock. "I'm not _that_ princess. Because if you had hit my sister, Elsa, it would have been… well bad." She grimaced. "But lucky for you it's just me."

Hans smiled, appreciating the goofy smile the girl had on her face. She was very cute and funny, Hans thought. He had never met anyone like her. Church bells went off in the distance, signaling the beginning of the coronation but neither of them made a move to leave. Suddenly Anna blinked, processing what she was hearing.

"Oh no! The bells! I'm late." She walked backwards until she bumped into a pole. "I have to go! Bye!"

Anna gave a small wave before turning away from Hans and running full tilt towards the castle. She heard a small splash but she was too concerned about the coronation to look back. Anna rushed to the front of the church were she saw Kai looked exasperated.

"Princess, there you are! No one could find you! This really isn't the day for wandering off!" He reprimanded her. Anna scoffed.

"I'm here now!" She said, trying to cut off any more lecturing.

Kai ignored her snark and led her into the church and deposited her on the right side of pulpit. She was a good 4 feet away from the bishop and were her sister would be but Anna's presence on stage was a requirement. People filled in and Anna nodded politely, while beaming at everyone. Soon enough, the choir had begun to sing and the doors opened to reveal the new Queen.

Anna was stuck by how much Elsa looked like their mother, especially with her hair styled the way it was. Anna made a mental note to find the dressmaker and tell her how well her sister's dress looked. It was lucky that everyone had turned to look at Elsa's entrance because Anna realized her mouth had been hanging open. As Elsa got closer, Anna noticed that her sister was staring at the ground and looked slightly nauseous.

"She's gotta be nervous." Anna said under her breath.

As Elsa reached the priest she glanced over towards Anna. Trying to be supportive, she gave Elsa an encouraging smile but all Elsa could manage in return was a grimace. Seeing her sister's awkwardness, Anna failed to bite back a small giggle. Anna clamped her hand over her mouth, horrified that she was laughing at Elsa on her coronation day but relaxed as she saw Elsa's mouth twitch upwards into a smile. Just then the bishop called for everyone in the stands to sit and he began the ceremony.

Anna tried her hardest to pay attention, but the bishop seemed to drone on and on. Sneaking a glance behind her, Anna turned and saw Hans sitting in the 3rd row, a portly man sleeping against his shoulder. She gave him a small wave and he returned the gesture but Anna noticed that his clothing was crinkled and his hair seemed darker.

"What happened?" She mouthed.

"Fell in water." He mouthed back, looking embarrassed.

Anna smiled. That seemed like something she would do. Anna turned back towards the bishop as he held out a pillow carrying a golden ball and scepter to Elsa. Elsa was about to grab the items when the bishop whispered something Anna couldn't hear and Elsa paused to take off her gloves. Anna had noticed that Elsa wore gloves every time she had seem her over the years, or at least had gloves in her hands. She must not like dirt, Anna concluded. Elsa held the sacred items and faced the crowd, who had stood as the final words of the ceremony rang out.

"Queen Elsa, of Arendelle!" The bishop announced.

"Queen Elsa, of Arendelle!" The crowd repeated.

Anna watched as her sister quickly gave back the golden artifacts and slipped her gloves back on as everyone began to clap and cheer. Elsa gave a sigh of relief, and allowed the bishop to lead her out the doors of the church. Anna followed behind her sister, careful not to step on her cape. They would have a few minutes to freshen up in their own rooms as the guests filed into the great hall for the ball to begin.

* * *

**So next chapter is the ball where we FINALLY get to see some interaction with Elsa and Anna! Next chapter should be out Friday!**


	7. Chapter 7

**Author's Note**

**So this chapter will be familiar only because I think its adorable. Since I did that I tried to show a bit more of the girls' internal motivations. The next couple of chapters will be mainly HansXAnna. The KristoffXElsa will be a slower build up only because Kristoff doesn't show up until later. Enjoy.**

**I do not own Frozen**

* * *

Chapter 7

Elsa waited for Kai to announce her in the hall adjacent to the ballroom and was almost giddy with excitement.

She's done it! Elsa had kept a tight hold on her powers despite her nervousness and no one had been the wiser. Then there was Anna. Elsa knew that her sister must have picked up on the intense nerves she was feeling and had offered her a smile. It had been heartening and Elsa was now wondering if it was time to reconnect with her sister. Elsa was now able to keep her powers under control and it was her birthday, after all. Maybe she could start opening the door.

"Queen Elsa of Arendelle!" Kai announced, gesturing towards his left.

Elsa kept her head high as she walked to the front of the ball and stood before the throne.

"Princess Anna of Arendelle!" Kai called once more and gestured to the right.

There was a moment of silence where Anna was nowhere to be found before she came running in and stood at the bottom stair, joyfully waving at the crowd. Kai grabbed Anna by the shoulders and placed her next to Elsa.

"Oh, wait. Are you sure I should be-?" Anna stammered. "Oh, ok."

Anna sidestepped away from her big sister and fidgeting nervously. Elsa sighed knowing that her sister was nervous to be around her. Well, now was the time to change that. Elsa leaned over to initiate contact for the first time in 13 years.

"Hi." Elsa said, trying to sound as causal as possible.

"Hi? Who? Hi me?" Anna asked, utterly surprised. Elsa nodded, trying not to be hurt by Anna's sarcastic tone.

Elsa never talked to her so Anna assumed that she, surely, must be speaking to someone else. She looked left to right to see if there was anyone else her sister could be speaking too but found no one. Anna's face changed from one of skepticism to one of excitement.

"Oh, um. Hi!" Anna said smiling, her tone softening.

"You look beautiful." Elsa offered.

It was true. Anna had grown into a beautiful young woman and her beautiful dress and graceful hairstyle only emphasized the changed that Elsa had been unable to witness as they grew. It left a small pang to realize how much time Elsa had missed.

"Thank you." Anna blushed. "You look beautifuller. No wait, more beautiful. I meant more beautiful."

Elsa stared at Anna blankly for a moment before giggling and blushing as well. Elsa was not used to any form of compliment, let alone a compliment from Anna.

"Thank you." Elsa responded. They fell into an awkward silence for a moment. "So, this is a party?"

Elsa surveyed the hall. There were at least 70 people in the ballroom and most of them were dancing. The rest were milling around by the food tables which had been lined up along the walls. There was music playing and people laughing but most of these people were twice Elsa and Anna's age. Maybe only a handful were under 30.

"It's warmer than I thought it would be." Anna offered.

Elsa nodded. It was definitely warmer than Elsa was used to; almost uncomfortably so. Elsa longed to retreat to her room were her powers automatically lowered the temperature, but it was a once in a lifetime celebration so she forced herself to stay. Luckily, there was a wondrous smell wafting towards Elsa at the moment.

"What's that smell? Is it...?" She trailed off. Both sisters inhaled deeply.

"Chocolate!" They said in unison, giggling at the similar reactions.

Elsa felt lighter than she had in years. This was going better than she had expected. Anna looked like she was about to speak when a throaty cough alerted them to company. The girls turned to see a short, thin man with grey hair, an obvious toupee, and a very bushy mustache.

"Your majesty, the Duke of Weselton." Kai announced. The Duke bowed slightly.

"Queen Elsa, as your closest trade partner, please allow me to congratulate you on your coronation."

"Of course." Elsa nodded politely. She had heard of the Duke before. He was a shrewd business partner and a notorious hothead.

"May I offer you the pleasure of your first dance as Queen?" He asked, holding his hand out to her.

Elsa hesitated and the Dukes eyebrows rose. Elsa knew she shouldn't refuse someone who was responsible for nearly half of Arendelle's trade, but she knew it was dangerous for her to be that close to anyone. Movement beside her gave Elsa an idea.

"Thank you. But I don't dance." Elsa started. "But my sister does."

Elsa gestured to her right and the Duke's gaze followed. Misunderstanding her sister's statement for a compliment, Anna laughed.

"Very well, lucky for you, Miss." The Duke threaded his arm through Anna's and begin to steer her towards the dance floor.

"Wait, what?" Anna asked confused.

Elsa gave Anna a guilty smirk as she was dragged away. The music started and Anna began to dance slowly while the Duke essentially circled around her. Anna couldn't believe it; her sister sold her out just to avoid a dance with the Duke. It's not that Anna minded but it was just such a 'sister' thing to do. Anna felt herself smiling. Maybe things with Elsa were looking up.

"So, Princess, it's such a change to have the gates open." The Duke started, trying to dip her.

It was odd for Anna to be dipped by someone shorter than her but the Duke managed it by bending her so far backwards, Anna swore her back was going to break.

"Such a shame they've been closed in the past. You wouldn't know the reason for that, would you?" He continued.

"Uh, no." Anna said slowly as e Duke pulled her back up.

"Ah, well. I really didn't expect you to." He shrugged, and twirled her before releasing her abruptly. "If you'll excuse me."

He left her unexpectedly and Anna was still twirling slightly.

"What was that?" Anna wondered.

She wasn't really sure how she felt about the Duke's last statement or his abrupt departure. Anna was still mulling it over as she joined her sister once more.

"So how was your dance?" Elsa asked guiltily. Anna laughed.

"Not what I expected." Anna answered. "But I'm having a great time! I wish it could always be like this!"

"Me too." Elsa agreed.

Anna's smile grew and Elsa immediately regretted her words. What if Anna thought this meant they would leave the gates open? Elsa decided she needed to make it clear that one night would not change anything.

"But it can't." Elsa told her. Anna's face dropped.

"But why not?" Anna pleaded, raising her hand to grab Elsa's arm.

Elsa's panic flared as she evaded her sister's touch.

"It just can't!" She snapped.

Anna drew back, hurt.

"Excuse me." Anna managed, turning from her sister and pushing through the crowd.

Anna should have realized that her sister wouldn't change. Elsa had spent 13 years not caring about Anna, some small talk tonight wasn't going to change that. Anna sniffled, fighting back tears until someone bumped into her, sending her flying. Someone grabbed her arm and kept her from falling flat on her face. Anna looked up to see Hans standing over her, concern in his eyes.

"Princess, are you alright?" He asked.

"Uh huh." Anna babbled. Knowing that she was being weird, Anna cleared her throat. "I mean, Yes, I'm fine. Thank you."

"Good." Hans responded.

Suddenly, a new song began to play and everyone around them was dancing. It was painfully awkward to be the only two people on the dance floor who weren't participating so Hans held out his hand in invitation. Nodding, Anna placed her hand in his and they began to dance. Anna felt giddy as they circled around the dance floor, a smile plastered on her face as she gazed at Hans. Anna blushed and her skin heated up. The two danced through a few songs before they decided to stop for a drink. Giggling, Anna took the small cup of water Hans handed her.

"It's a bit stuffy in here. Would it be too much trouble to ask for a walk, Princess?" Hans asked.

"Yeah! A walk would be great!" Anna agreed. "But you can just call me Anna."

"Ok, Anna." Hans said, emphasizing her name.

"Great! So how about I give you the tour?" Anna asked.

"I'd love that." Hans smiled.

* * *

**So another chapter tomorrow and we can finally get to Anna and Hans. **


	8. Chapter 8

**Author's Note**

**Thank you to everyone who has left me reviews, I really enjoy reading them and hearing your feedback. So here is the next chapter. It focuses on Hans and Anna and is the basis for their relationship. **

**I do not own Frozen**

* * *

Chapter 8

Anna and Hans wandered out of the ballroom and Hans marveled at seeing the Princess in the moonlight. She was one of the nicest people Hans had ever met and he was happy to be getting to know her better. Anna turned and smiled shyly at Hans and he noticed the white streak in her hair.

"What's that?" He asked, pointing to it.

"Oh." Anna patted her hair nervously. "I was born with it. That strand just never seems to grow into any other color."

"I like it. It's unique." He offered genuinely.

"Thanks." Anna replied, blushing. "But you're never going to see anything if we stay here. Let's go!" Anna grabbed Han's hand and led him away.

Over the next 3 hours Anna showed Hans all of the spots she used to frequent as a child. In the gardens, Anna told Hans about Arendelle summers and how the unbearable heat was tempered by the breezes that came in from the fjord. In one of the watch towers, she told him about the northern lights that would dance around the mountains but could be seen from Arendelle on clear nights. Hans asked questions about her childhood and when Anna let slip that she used to talk to paintings, Hans decided to voice one of his conclusions.

"You spent a lot of time alone, didn't you?" He asked. Anna's shoulders slumped and her smile vanished.

"I did." She admitted. "When I was younger, Elsa and I used to be really close. But then she suddenly stopped talking to me. Tonight has been the longest I've spent with her in over 13 years. Mama and Papa did their best to spent time with me but they always seemed to be working or with Elsa. Then they never returned from an oversea voyage and I've been alone ever since."

"I'm sorry." Hans said. "Would it make you feel better to say I know how you feel?"

Anna raised her head to look at him.

"What do you mean?" She asked.

"Well, I have 12 older brothers." He started.

Anna's eyebrows rose in surprise. 13 children was a lot to handle. But Anna wasn't sure where he was going with this; it sounded wonderful to have all those playmates.

"It must have been crazy with all those brothers." Anna offered.

"It was. But it was also very lonely." He told her. "You see while we are all sons of the King, many of us come from different mothers. Many of my brothers are well over 10 years older than me. By the time I was 10 many were married and living on their own or in the navy. There were really only 5 brothers who I grew up with. Growing up as the youngest son meant that my mother was the King's current lover. When that happened, the previous mistress must leave but all of the Princes stay. I was the only son by my mother so her presence meant that my brothers' mothers had been removed from the castle. Many of them hated me for it."

Anna was stunned. She knew that things ran differently in other kingdoms as everyone had different customs, but she couldn't imagine what Hans was describing to her.

"They hated you?" She repeated.

"3 of them pretended I was invisible for 2 years." He grimaced.

"What made them stop?" Anna wondered, thinking about Elsa and how she ignored Anna when they were younger.

"Our father took on another mistress and my mother was sent away." Hans told her softly.

"No!" Anna exclaimed. Hans nodded solemnly.

"I was 11 at the time and the King had found someone younger to occupy his time and by that time I was old enough to look after myself." He continued. "By that time my brothers figured that I had been tormented enough now that my mother was gone too. We never became close, the resentment was too much, but at least they would talk to me now and again."

"I'm sorry." Anna mumbled, truly saddened by his story.

Hans sighed. He had never revealed his childhood to anyone outside the royal family and it was difficult telling Anna about it now. But Hans knew from his childhood that his father never loved any of the women he had children with; they were just convenient. Yet, Hans had spent his lonely childhood reading in books above true love. As someone starved for affection, true love was something he had dreamed about. When he looked at Anna, he felt that maybe love was finally in his reach.

"It's alright." Hans gave a nervous chuckle. He was glancing nervously at Anna, worried that he had revealed too much. "Maybe we should get back to the party."

"Hans." Anna sighed, guessing at his abrupt change in direction that he was feeling uncomfortable. "We don't have to go back to the party. But if you don't want to talk about this anymore, I understand. For what it's worth, I'm glad you told me."

"I'm glad too." He said, shuffling his feet slightly. "I've just never connected with anyone like this before. I don't know what possessed me to be so candid."

"I've never felt like this before either." Anna assured him. "Can I say something crazy?"

"I love crazy." Hans chuckled, the side of his mouth pulling up into a happy smirk.

"All my life I've felt so closed off from other people. But with you I feel happy and open!" She practically shouted. Anna had no idea if she was making sense. "And tonight has been like something out of a dream."

"I know what you mean." Hans agreed. "It's like… nothing has ever felt right until now."

"Exactly!" Anna shouted. "Almost like…"

"Fate?" Hans supplied.

Anna nodded slowly.

"Anna, I don't want to go back to feeling alone." He pleaded, grabbing Anna's hands with his and intertwining their fingers.

"Me neither." Anna said softly, reveling in the warmth of his hands against hers.

The two gazed into each other's eyes for what seemed like an eternity. To each of them, it felt like they could see the pain they had each experienced growing up reflected in the other's eyes. Anna was taken in by the vulnerability Hans was displaying and moved by the trust he had given her by revealing his childhood with her. Likewise, Hans was stunned by Anna's sunny personality even after she had been practically shunned and ignored.

"Can I kiss you, Anna?" Hans asked, his fear causing his voice to shake.

"Ok." Anna responded, an unknown feeling igniting in her stomach.

Hans closed his eyes and slowly lowered his face to hers. Anna puckered her lips slightly and held her breath as Hans' lips briefly pressed against hers. It was as if the feeling in Anna's stomach exploded and rushed to every inch of her body. She closed her eyes and enjoyed the kiss, loving the way Hans was pressed lightly against her and how soft his lips felt. It was if nothing else in the world existed and Anna knew she loved Hans. After a moment, Hans stepped back, breathless and invigorated by their first kiss.

"Wow." Anna babbled. "That was just-. Wow."

"Anna, I love you." Hans blurted out.

Anna gasped and felt a smile spread over her face. He was feeling the exact same way and Anna couldn't be happier.

"Oh, Hans. I love you too!" She professed.

Hans broke into a brilliant smile and placed another kiss on her lips. He had never felt so happy, so free, and he never wanted to lose her. He hated the idea of Anna being alone and hated that in a few hours he may have to leave and reduce their love to a romance captured in letters. For Hans, there was only one solution he could see.

"Anna?" Hans started, hoping he wasn't going to sound crazy. "I love you and I never want to lose you."

"I don't want to lose you either." Anna repeated.

Taking this as his chance, Hans knelt on one knee.

"Anna, will you marry me?" He asked, holding his breath.

Anna gasped, not able to break eye contact. His gaze was so intense and fueled by his declaration of love, Anna responded.

"Yes, Hans! I'd love to!" She laughed.

Adrenaline coursing through him, Hans leaped to his feet and grabbed his princess by the waist, lifting her into the air, whooping with excitement while Anna giggled. Hans spun in a circle and lowered her down, the two sharing their third kiss as Anna's feet finally touched the ground.

* * *

**Whew, ok. Hope you liked it. I'd love to hear your feedback about Hans. I always thought there was more to him than just some... villain. **

**Next chapter should be out in a couple of days. Bye :)**


	9. Chapter 9

**Author's Note:**

**So here is the next chapter. Elsa's reaction is here and she's kind of along the same lines that you guys are, telling those crazy kids to slow down. Anyways, enjoy!**

**I do not own Frozen**

* * *

Chapter 9

Hans and Anna broke apart when the church bell signaled midnight. They stepped back, laughing and smiling; oblivious in their happiness.

"It's getting late. I guess we should head back inside." Hans stroked a stray piece of hair out of Anna's face. She giggled.

"Yeah, and we should tell me sister about the good news." Anna said, leading Hans back into the party to search for Elsa.

Inside there were still people dancing and eating while waiting their turn to speak to the new Queen. As tired as Elsa was, she knew it was her duty to entertain the visitors from the neighboring kingdoms but she had never talked so much in her life. Many of the older guests had gotten to her first so at least now she was able to converse with some people who were closer to her own age. The couple that had stood out the most were from Corona; a Prince Eugene and Princess Rapunzel.

They were pleasant and seemed a bit more down to earth than many of the other dignitaries here. Almost as if they hadn't been raised as royalty. Elsa had found it refreshing and interesting, especially the Princess's interest in healing and medicine, she had said it was a hobby of hers. Elsa had been genuinely saddened when they had left and had been replaced by the couple she was currently speaking with. A portly representative from Ireland and his wife who both only wanted to complain about the food. A sudden call from behind her alerted Elsa to her sister's return. She had been wondering where Anna had run off to after their disagreement. Now her sister was practically running towards her, dragging a young man behind her.

"Elsa!" Anna called before clearing her throat. "May I present Prince Hans of the Southern Isles."

"Your majesty." He said respectfully.

The young man bowed and Elsa studied him briefly. He was tall with auburn hair and large sideburns. He looked to be around Anna's age but Elsa couldn't be sure. In her studies to become Queen, Elsa had studied the Southern Isles extensively. They were a collection of islands joined by one mainland where they had survived off of a strong navy and various goods. They were a prime trade partner for Arendelle but they were not currently the largest partner because of the distance between the two.

"It's wonderful to meet you." Elsa replied. She was becoming wary because it seemed as if Anna and this newcomer would not stop laughing.

"Well, we…" Anna trailed off in a fit of laughter. Seeing Anna in such a state, Hans decided to try.

"We would like to ask…" He made the mistake of locking eyes with Anna before becoming overcome with laughter as well. "We would like to ask for…"

"Your blessing!" Anna blurted, unable to say more.

Noticing the Queens blank look the couple laughed and shouted. "Of our marriage!"

"Wait, what? Marria-?" Elsa sputtered. "I'm sorry. I'm confused. What are you talking about?"

Elsa hoped she had heard wrong. Because there was no way her little sister could be thinking about marriage. Especially, to a man she had just met this very day.

"Well, there's still a whole bunch of details we have to work out!" Anna continued, oblivious. "We'll need a few days to plan the ceremony."

"_Days_?" Elsa repeated, her hope fading.

"Maybe a bit longer, Anna. We will have to get word back to my family and then give them time to travel here for the ceremony." The Southern Isles Prince said, grimacing as if he wasn't really happy about it.

"Of course, silly me!" Anna playfully swatted at Hans' arm. "We'll need that time to prepare the rooms for all 12 of your brothers. I mean, of course we have the room."

"12 brothers? Anna!" Elsa tried to interject, her panic rising.

"What?" Anna asked, not even looking at Elsa.

"Slow down! No one is getting married." Elsa told her.

"What?" Anna gasped, her focus on Elsa for the first time since the conversation began.

"Can I please speak with you? Alone?" Elsa said pointedly. Anna's lip trembled and Hans tried to rub her arm soothingly.

"No!" Anna spat. "Whatever you have to say, you can say to both of us!"

"Fine." Elsa raised her eyebrow at Anna's statement. "You cannot get married. You just met."

"You can if its true love!" Anna exclaimed, her anger rising.

"What do you know about true love, Anna?" Elsa sighed. Could Anna really be this blinded?

"More than you!" Anna snapped. "All you know how to do is shut people out!"

Elsa gasped and stepped back, stinging from her sister's accusation. Of course her sister didn't know about the great lengths their parents went to keep the girls apart, the sacrifices Elsa made to keep Anna safe. But to have it thrown in her face by the one person she loved the most, hurt.

"You asked for my blessing but my answer is no." Elsa managed around the quiver in her voice.

"But Elsa!" Anna whined but Hans stopped her.

"Your majesty, perhaps I can ease your-" Hans began. He hoped that confessing his love for her sister would help convince the queen that he was the right man but Elsa cut him off.

"No." She snapped, turning away from them. "I think it's time for you to go."

The couple stood stunned by this refusal as the queen passed by one of her attendants.

"The party is over." Elsa told him. "Close the gates."

"Yes, your majesty." The attendant answered.

"Elsa, no!" Anna rushed forward to grab her sister's left hand. Elsa jerked her hand away but Anna held tight, removing her glove.

"Give that back!" Elsa reached for the glove with her right hand but Anna stayed out of reach.

"Elsa, please! I can't continue like this. I can't go back to being shut up in this castle with no one besides you!" Anna spat.

"Then leave." Elsa told her, tears welling up in her eyes. "If you want to get away from here so badly, go! You can leave with your prince and run off to the Southern Isles to be married.

"What?" Anna whispered, not believing what Elsa was saying. "You hate me so much that you would rather have me leave than be happy?"

"I don't-" Elsa shook her head but Anna wasn't hearing it.

"What did I ever do to you?!" Anna shouted. "What could I have possibly done?"

Anna's little tirade was drawing the attention of everyone left in the hall. Elsa knew that this conversation was inappropriate to have in front of guests so she decided to discuss this later.

"Anna, that's enough." Elsa whispered, trying to tell her sister to calm down. "I will discuss this with you later."

Elsa turned away, trying to cover her ungloved hand which was currently frosted over. She needed to get her emotions under control, Elsa was angry and embarrassed and she could feel her control slipping.

"NO!" Anna shouted, her face red with anger. "I'm not letting you leave here so you can just ignore me! We are going to talk about this! Why do you shut me out?! Why do you shut everybody out?"

"That's ENOUGH!" Elsa roared.

Elsa let her hand sweep through the air to emphasize her point but, too late, she realized that she had gestured with her ungloved hand. She felt the power leap from her finger tips and ice sprouted on the ground, forming a spiked barrier between the queen and her sister. Elsa drew her hand back, staring at her creation in horror. It took a moment for the crowd to react but once it did, the hall was full of gasps and screams.

"Witch!" A cold voice rang out.

Anna turned to see it was the Duke of Weselton who had spoken and was now calling two of his attendants and beginning to advance on her sister. Anna's anger vanished as she saw Elsa pressed up against the door, looking obviously terrified. Elsa opened the door and disappeared down the hall, the Duke and his men hot on her trail.

"Elsa, wait!" Anna called but her sister wasn't listening. "Hans, come on!"

Anna ran around the large ice formation that had sprouted up from the floor and lead Hans to the courtyard were a crowd was formed. Anna gasped as she saw the large fountain had frozen solid and there was frost on the entryway where the Duke and his men were struggling to rise off of the floor.

"What happened?" Hans asked, helping the Duke up.

"That witch attacked me!" He roared, his face purple with anger.

"Elsa wouldn't do that!" Anna yelled, scanning the crowd.

Anna spotted Elsa's cape vanish around the corner and tore after her.

"Anna, wait!" Hans shouted, abandoning the Duke and following her.

Anna ran to the castle's outer wall which had a staircase that lead to the fjord. As she reached the top of the stairs, Elsa reached the water's edge.

"Elsa, wait!" Anna called again.

Elsa was terrified to see her sister so close when she was so out of control. The ice was coming freely now, not even being stopped by the barrier of her clothes. Elsa saw the ice spreading on the ground and wondered if she could make it sturdy enough to run across the fjord. Anna was running down the stairs so Elsa couldn't stall any longer. Pushing her powers out towards the ground, Elsa ran across the water as it froze beneath her feet. Adrenaline coursing through her, Elsa reached the shore and began the trek up the mountain; no thought but to be as far away from Arendelle as possible.

* * *

**Ok. Next chapter begins the search and some of the changes take place. See you guys soon.**


	10. Chapter 10

**Author's Note:**

**So I went to rewatch Frozen today for the "insert guess here" time so I want to give this chapter to you early! Delving more into Hans and Anna here. I know a lot of you are anxious for Kristoff, I am too, but I have to spend a bit more time on Elsa and Kristoff. Soon, I promise. **

**I do not own Frozen**

* * *

Chapter 10

"No! Elsa!" Anna yelled. "Wait!"

She watched as her sister became a tiny purple speck as she traveled further and further away. Anna tried to follow across the water but she slipped, the only thing keeping her from falling was Hans steadying her.

"Anna!" He called, shaking her. "Look!"

"I know! She's already halfway up the mountain!" Anna scowled.

"No, Anna, the fjord!" Hans pointed to the bay.

Anna watched as the water froze solid, trapping the ships that were occupying the waters. The ice spread out until it reached the mountains and now a light snow was falling. Snow. In July.

"We should get back." Hans suggested and Anna simply nodded.

Together, they made their way back to the square where the crowd was taking in the snowfall. Some were marveling at the oddity, others were beginning to panic. In the middle of the square, the Duke was issuing orders.

"Gather any able body men you have and just as many horses. We go after the witch tonight!" He shouted. Some in the crowd cheered but many more seemed reluctant.

"No!" Anna cried. "You can't do that!"

"The Queen has revealed herself and cursed this land! Who knows what evil will befall us if we sit and do nothing?" He snapped.

"I never said we would do nothing!" Anna snapped back. "But my sister was scared! She never meant for this to happen, I can tell!"

"And why should we believe you?" The Duke accused. "What proof do we have that there is no witchcraft in you either?"

"Hey! I'm completely normal! And I didn't even know my sister could do this!" Anna told him.

"Well, it sounds like you hardly know your sister. Would good would you be?" The Duke pressed.

"Hey! You are speaking to Princess Anna of Arendelle!" Hans interjected. "You will not disrespect her."

The Duke huffed, eyeing the Hans with disdain. The Duke didn't like the reminder from the young prince that he wasn't in control.

"I will go after my sister!" Anna announced. "Bring me my horse!"

"I'm going with you." Hans told her quietly. "It could be dangerous and I don't want you getting hurt."

"You don't have to, Elsa wouldn't hurt me." Anna said. Hans looked skeptical. "Fine, come on!"

There was a flurry of activity as Hans was fitted with a cloak and Anna changed into a winter dress with cape and boots more appropriate for their trek. She had redone her hair into her usual two braids and Hans noticed that her white stripe was more noticeable this way. Gerda insisted on giving them packs with food and some basic supplies they might need which took some time to prepare. The longer it took the more irritable Anna became, tapping her foot, huffing, and scowling. It was a new side to her that Hans found hilarious. Finally, Kai led two horses over to them and helped Anna mount her horse.

"Your highness, please be careful." Kai begged. "Your sister has her magic but we worry for you."

"You knew?" Anna asked sharply. Kai nodded, glancing around them as people glanced their way. Anna lowered her voice. "You knew and you didn't tell me?"

"Yes, the staff knew. But your father had forbidden us from telling anyone about it." He revealed.

"Even me?" Anna asked disbelievingly.

"Yes, even you." Kai said.

"Fine." Anna said, shaking her head. She didn't have time to deal with this. "Please have the advisors watch over the kingdom in our absence."

"Of course, Princess Anna." Kai bowed his head in farewell. "Please be careful."

Anna tried to give him a reassuring smile before turning her horse and heading out of the castle gates with Hans by her side. They headed to the spot where they had seen Elsa last and decided to start from there.

"This is going to be difficult." Hans muttered as they reached the foot of the mountain. "She's going to be hard to track with fresh snow covering her tracks."

"How do you know how to do that stuff?" Anna asked, impressed.

"It's kind of essential when you're hunting." He replied, dismounting his horse to take a look at some snow.

"Hunting?" Anna gasped. "Like little baby animals?"

"Hunting is a popular pastime at home." Hans shrugged. "But we don't shoot the babies."

"No! Just the mommies and daddies!" Anna pouted. Hans smiled.

"It sounds like you don't approve." Hans chuckled at Anna's scowl. "And if my hunting skills prove indispensable to finding your sister?"

"Then I'll never say another word against it." Anna said, rolling her eyes. "Now, have you found something or not?"

"I have." He responded. "She's heading north."

"Alright! Let's go north!" Anna said, heading in the wrong direction.

"Anna." Hans called.

"What?" She answered.

"North is this way." He pointed in the correct direction.

"I knew that." Anna said, turning and heading off.

Hans laughed, mounting his horse and following behind her. Hans admired Anna's courage but he couldn't help thinking that Anna would have totally lost by herself. The two traveled for hours as the sun began to set. Hans noticed that Anna was drooping in her saddle and he insisted they stop to rest.

"But the longer we wait, the farther she'll get!" Anna complained.

"We won't be doing her any good if we get so tired that we can't tell which way is up." Hans explained, unpacking and setting up camp. "We won't get far in the dark so we should rest here for the night."

Anna watched impatiently as Hans tethered the horses to a tree and gave them food and water. He set up a small tent and placed a bed roll inside. Hans was building a campfire while amusing himself with watching Anna. She had got tired of watching him work and she was now lying on the ground. Hans had never known of a princess who was so willing to sit in the dirt, let alone lie in it. She was persistent, and headstrong but Hans liked it. Finally, he had finished setting up their small camp and pulled out some of the food the castle had prepared for them.

"You're really patient." Anna noted, taking the sandwich Hans handed her.

"And you're kind of excitable." Hans countered jokingly.

"I've always been excitable." Anna laughed. "When I was younger I couldn't sit still."

"I can picture that." Hans said.

They ate silently for a moment until Hans grimaced and picked something out of his sandwich.

"Ugh. Someone just had to ruin a perfectly good sandwich by adding pickles." He complained.

"You don't like pickles?" Anna raised her eyebrow. Hans shook his head.

"Sandwiches are my favorite but pickles just ruin everything." He commented.

"Well, this is just unacceptable." Anna said jokingly.

"Sorry to disappoint, Princess." Hans laughed but he suddenly got quiet and pointed to the tent. "You should probably get some sleep."

"But what about you?" Anna asked. She crawled into the tent but lied down with her head sticking out of the entrance.

"There's an extra blanket so I'll just sleep out here." He responded.

"What? But it's cold!" Anna protested.

"It's ok. I can handle it." Hans assured her.

"And how could you possibly know that?" Anna pressed.

"It's all part of the training I got from the Navy." He explained.

"You were in the Navy?" Anna sat up in surprise.

"Yeah. All of the Princes are required to do a tour in the Navy." Hans told her. "Some of my brothers decided to stay in and make it their career but I never had much of a stomach for sailing."

"So, wait, you're already retired from the Navy?" Anna asked. "How old were you when you joined? How old are you now?"

"I joined the Navy when I was 17 and my tour ended a few months ago." He told her. "It was 18 months and I'm 19 now."

"Woah, so you're older than me." Anna murmured.

"Just barely." Hans sighed.

It was silent for a few moments as Anna processed this new information.

"We really don't know each other very much, do we?" She asked solemnly.

"No, we really don't." Hans sighed. "So what does this mean for us?"

"I don't know. Everything seemed so simple last night." Anna shrugged.

"I know." Hans turned to face her. "Last night was the most amazing time I've ever had. The way I connected with you and opened up. I've never shared that much of myself with another person before."

"Neither have I." Anna smiled. "I feel more comfortable talking with you than I have in years."

"Maybe your sister was right. Maybe we were moving too fast." Hans admitted.

"So you don't want to get married anymore?" Anna asked, trying to not to show how hurt she was by what Hans was saying.

"I do. I really do. But you just said we really don't know much about each other and you're right." He tried to explain. "I mean, nothing would make me happier than to spend the rest of my life finding everything there is to know about you, but nobody else is going to understand that."

"So maybe we should… slow down?" Anna said slowly. She was processing everything Hans was saying and knew he was right. "I mean, I think we got caught up last night but that doesn't mean it was meaningless." Hans brightened at her words.

"Yeah!" He agreed. "So maybe we push back the wedding."

"Maybe for now we just-?" Anna smiled. "Courting?"

"That sounds nice." Hans smiled. "Well now that we've got that settled, you should get sleep."

"Ok." She smiled and settled in to sleep.

"Goodnight, Anna." Hans said, brushing her bangs out of her eyes, making her smile.

"Goodnight, Hans." Anna whispered, already falling asleep.

* * *

**Ok, so finally these kids take it down a notch and decide to try and get to know each other. I feel like these two have responded to their respective childhoods by being very open but are still very naive which is what leads then into making rash decisions. Without someone to ground them they could get into a lot of trouble. **

**For anyone who guess how many times I've seen Frozen in theaters, here's a hint: It rhymes with Sven. **

**Next chapter is Elsa and we finally see Kristoff! See you next time. **


	11. Chapter 11

**Author's Note:**

**So a lot of people said I've seen it seven times. I will not confirm nor deny if that's the number of times I have seen it in theaters but thanks for guessing.**

**Anyways, here is the next chapter. It's primarily Elsa with Kristoff appearing at the end.**

**I do not own Frozen**

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Chapter 11

Elsa collapsed to the floor, breathing heavily. She had been running for hours up to the northern mountain and now that she had arrived she was exhausted. The previous night was replaying in her head. Every particle of ice, every scream, every cry, every word rushed back. It was worse than anything Elsa had ever feared. Not only did Anna discover her secret but so did all of her subjects, all of her guests. Now everyone would know that she was a freak. It was everything her father had warned her against.

_But what does it matter now?_

Elsa's thought brought her up short. Her father wasn't around anymore to berate her for losing control and revealing her powers. Elsa was miles away from Arendelle and she doubted anyone would bother to come all the way out here to look for her. And Anna… Well Anna was always able to make the best out of any situation. Elsa figured that now Anna would be Queen. Kai and her advisors would help her with the day to day until Anna could take the crown. Maybe she would get married to that Prince from the Southern Isles, Elsa frowned thinking about it. But the point remained. Anna would take over and Elsa would be…

"Free." She said out loud. Elsa couldn't keep the smile off her face. "Free! I'm free!"

_Let it go._

Elsa began laughing, feeling more relieved than she ever had in her life. Being high in the mountains had given her clarity that she had missed locked in her room. No more holding back, no more hiding. Elsa looked down and at her singled gloved hand and removed it quickly and threw it into the snow. She stood and started to walk forward when her cape dragged behind her. Elsa unclasped it and allowed the wind to carry it off the side of the mountain. Laughing once again, Elsa ran forward up the ridge of the mountain.

"Ok, Elsa. Let's try this." Elsa muttered to herself.

She rubbed her hands together before letting the magic flow for the first time in years. Elsa produced several bursts of snowflakes before allowing herself to do what she had wanted to for 13 years; build a snowman. With a flick of her wrist, she summoned the snow to form into 3 small mounds and was even able to conjure 2 sticks for arms, 3 coal buttons, and some twigs for hair. Seeing her creation, Elsa giggled and ran to the edge of the ridge.

Needing to cross over to the open, flat, space of the next ridge, Elsa decided to test her powers. Thinking that the most efficient way to cross would be a stair case, Elsa pushed the magic out and created a staircase of snow. In reality, it didn't look very sturdy so Elsa approached it slowly, tentatively putting one foot on it to test its strength. Just like when they fjord froze beneath her feet in order to support her, the snow staircase now froze completely into solid ice. Grinning, Elsa ran up the stairs, watching in wonder as it grew and solidified into a proper staircase, complete with hand rails and decorative supports.

Once she had reached the other side, Elsa gathered up every bit of magic she could feel inside her and stomped down onto the floor. From her foot spread a large ice snowflake that spread to create a solid floor. Smiling, Elsa ushered her powers up and laughed as the floor rose into the sky, ice forming beneath and above her. Elsa felt as walls, doors, and arches formed in ice. Moved by the beauty forming around her, Elsa put an extra spurt into creating a large ornate chandelier to hang in the center of her palace.

The finishing touches on her now home complete, Elsa stood back to admire her work. She reached out to touch the wall and got a glimpse of her reflection in the mirror. Even without the cape and gloves, she was still in her coronation dress and still had her crown atop her head.

Elsa reached up and took off her crown, no longer needing it, and tossed it away. Elsa pulled her hair out of the formal up-do and let it hang down into a solitary braid. The hair that wouldn't stay in place she pushed back out of her face. Her new hairstyle not quite matching her outfit, Elsa let her magic consume her coronation dress and left a new dress in its place. Her new dress was light, made of glittering ice, had a slit that went up to above the right knee and was complete with a long cape made of ice so sheer that it was nearly see through.

Elsa strode out onto the balcony and watched as the sun rose over the mountain and sent light dancing into ice. Everything was so open, so beautiful, and it was the first time Elsa had considered her powers to be anything but a burden. She may have been alone on this mountain but at least here she didn't have to hold back or be afraid of hurting anyone.

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"40! You have got to be kidding me!"

A large and bearded man sat serenely behind a desk as the young man before him raged at the price of a meager bunch of carrots, an ice pick, and a length of rope. Oaken's Trading Post was known for their wares but this surprise winter had left everyone caught off guard and Oaken was driving up his prices accordingly.

"This is from our vinter stock." The proprietor said in a strong accent. "Now with this vinter, ve have some supply and demand issues."

"This is ridiculous." The young man lamented. "I only have 10 with me."

"10 vill only get you the carrots and no more." He pulled the other items back.

"Come on, help me out! I'm trying to go stop this winter! Which will help us both out!" He pointed out.

"How do you plan to stop it?" The older man asked.

"Whatever is going on is coming from the north mountain. I plan to go up there and… stop it." The young man finished lamely. The older man raised his eyebrows. "Oh come on! I sell ice for a living! This impromptu winter is ruining my life."

"Fine." Oaken took pity on the boy. "10 it is!"

"Thank you!" The young man emptied his pockets pay the new price.

"Vhat is your name, ice harvester?" Oaken asked cheerily, impressed with the young man's determination.

"Kristoff." He answered, shaking the man's hand.

"Vell, Kristoff. If you manage to bring back the summer, return and I shall give you a free stay at Oaken's sauna." He waved to some people in an adjacent room. "Oohoo! Hello family!"

"Oohoo!" Several voices called as they waved back. Kristoff waved back awkwardly.

"Is there anything else?" Oaken asked.

"Well, there is one thing." Kristoff smiled awkwardly.

Oaken's booming laugh filled the store as he listened to the blonde's request.

"Very vell, my shed is at your disposal!" Oaked told him joyfully. "Stay there for the night and begin your trek fresh in the morning!"

"Thank you. I really appreciate it." Kristoff released the breath he was holding.

A few more words of small talk were exchanged before Kristoff exited the shop with his new purchases and made his way to a little shed that was half buried in the snow. It opened easily and Kristoff turned before letting out a loud whistle.

"Sven!" He called out into the forest.

From around the corner came a reindeer pulling a sled full of ice. As soon as he saw his friend, Kristoff unhitched the animal from the sled and ushered him into the small shed. The reindeer pranced in and settled himself next to a large mound of hay as Kristoff lit a lantern.

"Well, buddy. We got what we needed so tomorrow morning we'll go to the mountain to stop whatever is causing this winter." He told the beast.

"But what can you do to stop it?" Kristoff answered himself the deep voice he used when he pretended that his reindeer could talk.

"We'll figure something out, I'm sure. Can't let this winter run me out of business!" He said normally, settling into the hay. "Now get some sleep. We leave at dawn."

The duo settled in, the shed keeping them from the storm outside. Kristoff let his mind travel to the next day, contemplating what could possibly be lying in wait on the top of the mountain. As a man who was taken in by trolls when he was a child, he had grown up fully aware of the existence of magic. His childhood was filled tales of the magical beings that shared the earth with humans, be them good, mischievous, or evil. Fairies who would help change the seasons, Will-o-wisps that would lead travelers from their paths and would occasionally be responsible for causing brush fires, and even a tale of an evil witch who put an entire kingdom to sleep before she was slain and the curse was reversed.

His surrogate mother had filled his head with all these tales and more but he didn't remember anything about magic that could freeze an entire kingdom. He supposed that the closest similarity was to the kingdom that had been cursed to sleep so it was possibly a witch. He knew that witch had been stopped with a sword so he just hoped his ice pick would do. Suddenly exhausted, Kristoff settled himself in the pile of hay, Sven's snoring not enough to keep Kristoff from falling into a peaceful sleep.

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**Whew, so now we get to it! Next chapter out soon. **


	12. Chapter 12

**Author's Note:**

**So Olaf features in this chapter because you cant have Frozen without at least mentioning an Olaf, right? **

**I do not own Frozen**

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Chapter 12

"Anna, wake up."

Anna shivered and groaned as she opened her eyes. It was light out, and there was a blanket of fresh snow on the ground.

"Hans." Anna mumbled. "It's so early."

"I take it you're not another morning person." Hans laughed. She shook her head. "Ok, noted. I'll add it to the list."

Anna sat up and rubbed her eyes. "What list?"

"The list of things I know about you." He answered.

"How's that going for you?" She asked, smiling.

"Well, I know that you're not a morning person. I know that you talk to paintings and that your hair looks like a haystack in the morning." Hans listed.

Anna yelped at the mention of her hair and reached up to feel it sticking up all over the place. Anna scowled and shook out her hair to redo her braids.

"I know you scowl when I tease you and you have the cutest little snore." He ribbed.

"I don't snore!" Anna protested. She was smiling at all the things Hans was listing. "You're not the only one with a list, mister."

"Oh really?" Hans challenged. He was eager to see what things she knew from their short time together. Anna got up and Hans started packing away their camp.

"Yeah!" Anna jumped up and down on the balls of her feet. "I know that you were in the Navy but you had to stop because you get seasick." Hans nodded at her reiteration. "I know that you know how to hunt and track, that you don't like pickles, but that sandwiches are your favorite."

"All true." Hans smiled. It was exhilarating getting to know Anna and Hans was happy to see it was the same for her.

They mounted up on their horses and headed north once more. In the new morning, their search for Elsa didn't take on the same urgency and they passed the time asking each other random questions to discover more about each other. Favorite desert, favorite book, time of year, best friend's name, most embarrassing moment; anything that popped into their brain was voiced as a question. They bonded over their similarities and teased one another over their differences.

Their questions stopped when they passed through a section of forest that had frozen over in the most beautiful way. The trees had see-through bulbs of ice at the end of each branch and a nearby river had seemingly frozen mid-torrent.

"I didn't know winter could be so beautiful." Anna marveled at the scene.

"I know what you mean." Hans added. "The Southern Isles tend to be warm. We hardly ever get a proper winter. But we do get extra warm summers."

"Wow! It would be great to experience summer!" A voice came from behind them.

Anna and Hans glanced around for whoever spoke and their eyes landed on a small figure who was waddling into the clearing. Anna blinked and tried to banish the sight of a snowman who was blinking up at them. When the snowman refused to disappear, Anna screamed.

"What the hell is that?" Hans yelled, putting himself in between Anna and this new addition. He drew his sword but the snowman paid him no mind.

"Hi! I'm Olaf and I like warm hugs!" The snowman opened his stick arms wide.

"Wait, what?" Anna poked her head around Han's defensive stance. She stared at the snowman, recognition dawning. "That's right! You were the snowman I built with Elsa!"

"So you're Anna!" Olaf said brightly, catching Anna off guard.

"You know me?" Anna asked, puzzled. "How?"

"If you know Elsa, then you must be Anna!" Olaf concluded.

"Did Elsa tell you about me?" Anna asked.

"Nope!" Olaf shrugged his little stick shoulders.

"Then how-?" Anna started but Hans interrupted.

"Olaf, did Elsa build you?" He asked. The snowman nodded. "Can you take us to her?"

"Sure, follow me!" Olaf hopped up and down. Anna was about to follow when she saw the look on Hans' face.

"You ok there?" Anna asked.

"Talking snowman." He shook his head before grabbing the leads for the horses. "It's just a lot to swallow."

"Oh, so freezing a kingdom is fine, but it's the talking snowman that tips the scales." Anna teased.

"No, I'm just taking it all in." Hans laughed. "But you seem to recognize him."

"Yeah, when Elsa and I were little, and would actually play together, we built a snowman that looked exactly like him. Only that one had a carrot for a nose and didn't talk." Anna explained.

"It's crazy that your sister's powers can create something like him." Hans remarked. "I mean, I'm kind of impressed."

"Yeah! But I'm not as cool as the giant ice palace she made!" Olaf interjected.

"Giant ice palace?" Anna repeated.

"Yeah! I's this big palace on the side of the mountain where Elsa is! She built it with her magic!" Olaf explained. "I haven't seen inside of it so I'm glad we're going."

Hans and Anna looked at each other but Hans simply shrugged. He supposed they would see what Olaf was talking about when they arrived. In no time, the group had made their way to the base of the ice palace, the two humans gaping at the structure.

"Wow, Olaf, when you said palace, you meant it!" Anna let out a low whistle. "This is one of the most amazing things I've ever seen."

"I'm right there with you." Hans agreed. Anna stood transfixed for another moment before clapping her hands together.

"Ok, let's do this." Anna said. "You two should stay here."

"What, no!" Hans shouted. "It's dangerous!"

Anna waved him off. "It's just my sister. I'll talk to her."

"Let me go with you." Hans suggested.

"Last time I introduced her to you, she froze everything." Anna laughed nervously. "But really. I should do this alone."

Hans seemed reluctant but he nodded anyways. He promised himself that if he heard anything out of place, he would go in to see for himself. Anna left the boys and climbed the staircase before coming to a stop in front of the massive doors. She held her breath as she knocked on the ornate doors, shocked when they opened immediately.

Stepping inside, Anna felt a little weary when she heard the doors shut behind her. Inside, there was a fountain made of ice in the center of the room and two staircases that framed the room. Anna headed for the stairs to her right and decided to make her presence known.

"Hello!" Anna called, her voice reverberating around the hall.

She reached the bottom step when she heard the sound of heels clicking on the ice. Elsa came from around the corner, completely stunned. She had never expected anyone to come and find her, let alone her younger sister.

"Anna?" Elsa asked, still stunned.

"Elsa, wow. You look amazing!" Anna blurted. "I mean, not that you didn't look good before! I just mean- I'll stop talking."

She was having trouble reconciling the woman in front of her with the sister she had seen just a couple of days ago. Elsa was now dressed in a gown of ice and had her hair in a wild braid. Anna had to admit that her sister looked good.

"Thank you." Elsa said self-consciously. "But have to go back."

"What? But we came all this way!" Anna protested. "You have to come home!"

"Anna, it's not my home anymore. I need to stay here. Where I can be alone and not worry about hurting anyone." She explained.

"Well, actually-" Anna tried to interject.

"Wait, what do you mean 'we'?" Elsa asked, momentarily distracted.

"Well, Hans and I came to bring you back-" Anna tried to explain.

"So, you're still with him? Even after I-" Elsa stopped, feeling her temper flare for a moment but she shook her head. Her sister could be so reckless some times.

Anna smiled momentarily at hearing Elsa try and pull the elder sister card. Maybe underneath it all, Elsa still had those sisterly instincts.

"You were right, Elsa-" Anna tried to say but was cut off again.

"No, it's not about who was right- Wait, what?" Elsa didn't understand what Anna saying and was slightly irked by the knowing smile on the young girls face.

"I said, you were right." Anna said slowly. "I think things that night where really… new. But we've decided to hold off on the engagement until we know each other better."

Elsa sighed, relieved.

"I'm glad. I mean, I want you to be happy but I was worried." Elsa stated. "I still am."

"I know you were just trying to look out for me, Elsa." Anna "I know you don't want me to get hurt. And for what it's worth, I'm sorry. About our fight, I mean."

"No, it doesn't matter. You just need to leave, Anna." Elsa, grasped her sides, feeling the fear creeping in again.

Hearing Anna talk that way about her, like she was a good sister, made Elsa feel uncomfortable. Anna didn't realize how many times Elsa had hurt her, physically and emotionally, just by being herself. She was feeling her powers slipping away from her again; a clear reminder that it was safer for everyone if she was alone.

"What? Elsa, come on!" Anna cried.

"Please, just go!" Elsa turned and ran up to the second story of her castle, praying Anna would leave.

Elsa knew her prayers hadn't been answered when she heard her sister climbing the stairs after her. Elsa reached the next room and realized there was nowhere else to run.

"Elsa, I know this must be scary but you won't accomplish anything by running away. Arendelle needs you!" Anna had reached the room and was now pleading. "Please come home, we can fix this together."

"Anna, it's not that simple! Everyone saw!" Elsa shouted, gesturing wildly. "By now everyone will know! No one is going to want a monster on the throne! I'm dangerous, please grasp that!"

"Elsa, I know we can figure this out together! But we need you!" Anna tried convincing her.

Elsa was the only hope they had of unfreezing the kingdom. Anna thought about what Elsa was saying; she had seen a lot of fear in the people as she left. It wouldn't be easy, but Anna knew that if Elsa came back they could regain the people's trust together. If she unfroze everything, they could let everyone know it was an accident and begin to win back the people.

"No one needs me." Elsa said brokenly.

"So you don't know then." Anna confirmed, not hearing the pain in her sister's voice.

"I don't know what?" Elsa rolled her eyes, sure this new line of questioning was just another ploy. Anna realized that her sister didn't know about Arendelle.

"Elsa," Anna said slowly, as if she was trying not to scare her. "Arendelle is… completely frozen."

Anna's statement brought Elsa up short. Whatever she was expecting her sister to say, it wasn't that.

"What?" Elsa managed. Anna shifted back and forth.

"Well, you kind of froze the entire kingdom and set off an eternal winter." Anna explained. Elsa gasped so Anna tried to back track. "But you can just unfreeze it!"

"No, Anna, you don't understand!" Elsa yelled. "I've never unfrozen anything in my life! I don't know how!"

Anna gulped at the admission. Elsa couldn't unfreeze it?

"It's ok, Elsa." Anna reached out to touch Elsa but she jumped out of reach.

Elsa was breathing heavily, grasping at her sides again as if to hold herself together. This was too much. She had ruined everything in her carelessness. So many people could get sick from the sudden change of summer to winter. They could possibly even die. How many people would suffer because of this? How many people hated her?

Snow began to fall and the wind picked up, swirling around Elsa. Anna was calling out to her, but Elsa couldn't hear her over the roar of the wind. Everything she had ever feared was happening and there was nothing she could do to fix it.

She was losing control.

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**Ok, so Anna got to her first and it is not going well. Yeesh. Next chapter later today. **


	13. Chapter 13

**Author's Note:**

**Second part to the previous chapter. 2 chapters in one day for you guys. Enjoy!**

**I do not own Frozen**

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Chapter 13

Anna had been inside the ice castle for a few minutes and Hans had yet to hear anything particularly disquieting. He tore his eyes away from the palace to search from the snowman. Olaf was currently entertaining himself by making faces at the horses so Hans wandered over to sit on the bottom step of the ice staircase. Hans had to admit that it was hard to believe that magic that could make such a friendly being could be inherently bad; maybe just misunderstood?

"Hans," Olaf started, abandoning his game with the animals to waddle over to him. "Why don't you want Anna to talk with Elsa?"

Hans sighed. "It's not that I don't want them to talk, I just don't want Anna to get hurt." The snowman seemed thoughtful.

"You must really love her, huh?" He asked, genuine curiosity in his eyes.

"You know, I really think I do." Hans answered honestly.

"What makes you think so?" Olaf pressed.

"Well, I worry about her and I know I'm missing her now that she's not here." He tried to put his feelings into the simplest terms. "She makes me happy and I'm just glad that I've gotten the chance to meet her."

"That's nice." Olaf said. He patted Hans on the shoulder sympathetically. "Just hang in there, buddy."

Hans was about to retort when the wind suddenly picked up. Hans and Olaf looked up and saw that there was snow gathering on the second floor. Hans felt his heart leap into his throat. He just knew that something wrong.

"Olaf, stay here with the horses!" He told him and ran up the steps.

Hans pushed through the doors and was only briefly stunned by the beauty of the entrance hall until he spotted some more stairs and headed straight for them. As he climbed, Hans heard raised voices so he ran faster. He was close to the top and saw a blizzard raging inside the room. Anna was trying to reach her sister and Elsa was backed up against the wall.

"Elsa! Can you hear me?" Anna shouted, trying to get closer.

"No. No." Elsa screamed, turning away from Anna as her powers forced their way out of her skin. "I CAN'T!"

The storm retreated into Elsa, clearing the room, before condensing into a single stream that shot out in all directions. The ice stuck Anna in the chest, causing her to stagger and fall to her knees.

"Anna!" Hans had made it in time to witness the blow.

Elsa turned and gasped at the sight of her sister on the floor. At the direction her powers had released, she knew it would have caught Anna in the chest. Hans rushed over to the fallen princess and helped her to her feet. As Anna stood, Elsa released the breath that she had been holding; it looked like she was fine.

"I'm fine, Hans." Anna assured him, slightly breathless. "I'm fine!"

"Anna are you ok?" Olaf waddled into the room and gave Anna a brief hug. "Hans ran in here to check on you and I got worried too!"

"I'm ok, Olaf." Anna assured him.

"What is that?" Elsa asked, surprised. It looked like a talking snowman but Elsa wasn't sure.

"Elsa!" Olaf ran up to her but stopped when Elsa recoiled back. "You built me, remember?"

Elsa briefly remembered forming a snowman when she had reached the top of the mountain but she was too frazzled at the moment to delve in further. He was, however, giving her an idea.

"I do but-" Elsa started. "Please, you all just need to go."

"Come on, Anna. We should go." Hans was wary after what he just saw and wanted to get Anna as far away from here as possible.

"No." Anna snapped. "I'm not leaving without you Elsa!"

Elsa sighed. "You have to."

Elsa closed her eyes and threw a seed of her magic to the floor between them, wanting nothing more than to get her sister as far away from here as possible. The magic twisted and spread, growing into a large being that sprouted arms and legs. Anna and Hans watched, stunned, as the snowman's arms became more defined and jagged ice formed large fingers. Where Olaf had expressive and fully formed eyes, this now creation had no eyes, only hollow sockets giving him a half formed look. The snowman turned to look at his creator.

"Please, just make them leave!" Elsa begged him.

Simply nodding, the large creature used one hand to grab the humans and the second hand to scoop up Olaf. He squeezed down the stairs, ignoring Anna and Hans' cries of protest, and threw them unceremoniously in to the snow outside the palace. Startled by the new addition, the horses reared and backed away.

"Hey!" Anna scowled, dusting the snow from her clothes. "That is rude!"

"Go away!" The creature bellowed as he threw Olaf into at the intruders.

Olaf was in pieces, Hans was dusting off snow from his clothes, and Anna was fuming from being thrown out into the cold by her sister. Anna reached down and grabbed a hunk of snow, pressing and forming it into a ball. With a roar, Anna tossed the snowball at the giant and watched as it hit lamely.

"Anna, what did you think that would accomplish?" Hans' question was drowned out when the beast roared and ice jutted out of his body.

"Uh-oh." Anna tugged on Hans. "I think I made it mad."

"You think?" Hans asked sarcastically, hastily piecing Olaf back together. "Now, run!"

Anna and Olaf took off down the mountain with Hans standing between them. He drew the sword he had been carrying at his waist and swiped at the monster. He caught it in the arm, severing part of its hand. The beast roared in agony, backhanding Hans into the side of the mountain. He felt his head hit rock and he released the grip on his sword, stunned. The snowman grabbed Hans by the leg, tossing him into the others and causing Anna to trip. They slid down the side of the mountain before coming to a stop near some snow covered trees.

"Ugh." Anna groaned. "Do you think we got away?"

Anna only got a groan in response.

"Hans!" She crawled over to find him face down in the snow. Anna noticed some blood against his hair and began to panic. "Oh my god! Hans, can you hear me?"

"Yeah, I can hear you." Hans was muffled from having his face in the snows so he rolled over until he was facing the sky. "I'm fine, Anna really. I may just have a slight concussion."

"A concussion!?" Anna shrieked. "How is that fine?"

"I said 'might'." Hans sat up, gingerly touching the back of his head and wincing. "I'm sure I'll be fi-What in the name of sanity is going on with your hair?"

"What!? What!?" Anna was alarmed by the rapid change in Hans' tone. "What's wrong with my hair?"

"You're hair has a huge white streak in it!" Hans exclaimed. Anna rolled her eyes.

"I know it does! We went over this the night of the coronation, remember?" Anna told him rudely. "Pay attention! Or, maybe you do have a concussion."

"No, Anna. I mean, the streak has grown!" Hans brought one of her braids up to her eyes.

"What!? No!" Anna mumbled. The streak had yesterday been an inch wide was now nearly one third of her right braid.

"Is this because of your sister?" Hans asked.

"It can't be! I've had this my whole life…" Anna trailed off.

Her parents had always said that Anna had been born with the strange white streak but that didn't necessarily make it true. There were a few scattered memories where Anna didn't remember having white in her hair. Her parents had lied to her about Elsa; was it possible that they were connected? Anna shook her head to clear her thoughts. She had more important things to worry about.

"I don't know what we're going to do now." Anna whispered.

"Maybe we should get back to Arendelle." Hans suggested. "We've been gone long enough and maybe if your parents had known about Elsa's magic they will have some type of information in the castle's library."

"Yeah, but mostly I was thinking about getting you to a doctor." Anna told him. "Now where did Olaf go?"

"Not to mention the horses." Hans gingerly got to his feet, swaying slightly.

"Hey guys, I found you!" Olaf bounced into view, tugging a horse behind him. "I found one of the horses!"

"Well, that's lucky!" Anna cheered.

"Or convenient, as some would say." Hans muttered.

Anna shot him a dirty look as she ran over to Olaf. The snowman lifted its wooden arms for a hug so Anna bent down and embraced him.

"So you were only able to find one, huh?" Hans asked. Anna scoffed. Hans shot her a sideways glance but Olaf spoke up.

"Sorry, the other ran away and was too fast for me." Olaf explained.

"Ungrateful, much? Seems the magical snowman has accomplished more than you did." Anna crossed her arms. "If I knew you were going to be this helpful, maybe I should have just come alone!"

"Anna!" Hans gasped. Surprised and hurt by her words.

"I'm sorry guys. Did I mess up?" Olaf asked.

"No, its fine. You did a great job, Olaf." Hans tried to give the snowman a reassuring smile but his attention was focused on Anna. Realizing what she said, Anna began to apologize.

"Oh my goodness, Hans. I'm so sorry, I don't know where that came from!" She said.

Suddenly, another section of Anna's hair turned white, leaving identical streaks on either side of her head.

"Anna, I think this has something to do with when Elsa struck you! Something about it is turning your hair white and making you mean." Hans surmised.

"And how would you know that? You don't even know me!" Anna said before gasping and clamping her hands over her mouth. She lowered her hands slightly. "Hans, this isn't me, I swear!"

Hans tried to bury the hurt he was feeling. Anna hadn't spoken like this in the past couple of days Hans had known her but her outburst was right; he didn't know her well enough to know if this mean streak was a common occurrence. He did know that this new attitude arriving in conjunction with the change in her hair was too big a coincidence to ignore. Hans could see that this was hard for Anna, her eyes were full of tears and was shivering slightly. He sighed and drew her close to plant a kiss on her cheek but drew back quickly.

"Anna, you skin is cold!" He shouted. "And not just 'I've been playing in the snow' cold, but 'I've been holding ice to face' cold!"

"I know, I'm freezing!" Anna admitted.

"We need to get back to Arendelle as quickly as possible." Hans said. "Come on, Olaf."

Hans dropped the supply packs from the horse, knowing that they wouldn't be stopping on their way back. He helped Anna get onto the horse before mounting himself and then situating the two of them on the saddle. He helped Olaf get onto the horse's rear before ushering the animal to into a run. As they traveled down the mountain, Hans noticed that Anna began shivering uncontrollably and he hoped that there would be a way to help her down in Arendelle before it was too late.

* * *

**So I always thought the Frozen heart would have more side effects than turning hair white. I feel like it would also cause a mean streak, negative emotions, etc... So some bitchiness to come. Next couple of chapters are Kristoff and Elsa centered. It should be out soon. :)**


	14. Chapter 14

**Author's Note:**

**So I'm excited for you guys to read this chapter so I'll keep this short. This whole chapter is about our favorite ice harvester. Enjoy.**

**I don't own Frozen**

* * *

Chapter 14

Kristoff had been on the other side of the mountain selling ice at one of Arendelle's farming villages when the snow hit. Safe to say that no one wanted to buy what they could get for free. Pissed, he had tried to follow the snow to his source but when he reached the base of the mountain it was to face heavy snowfall and sleet. Knowing he didn't have any winter gear with him, Kristoff had headed to Oaken's to wait out the storm until morning. Luckily, he was able to persuade Oaken to front him the supplies he need to scale the mountain.

Kristoff had left Oaken's early in the next morning eager to begin the long trek up to the north mountain. He had ditched the load of ice he was carrying, keeping it would have only slowed Sven down, and they were now making great time to the top of the mountain. Other than having to find an alternate route when they reached a cliff, things were progressing nicely. Kristoff and Sven were currently passing through a grove of frozen trees and Kristoff couldn't begrudge his friend as the reindeer stopped to admire the landscape.

"Sure is beautiful, isn't it, buddy?" Kristoff marveled.

"Sure is!" Kristoff responded in his 'Sven' voice. "It'll be too bad when we bring summer back."

Kristoff sighed. "You know as well as I do that no matter how much we enjoy winter, it's ruining our livelihood to have more than one winter a year."

"But it's so pretty." Sven huffed in agreement.

"I know, buddy." Kristoff trailed off.

He ran his hand through the branches, savoring the natural wind chimes created by this false winter. Winter was Kristoff's favorite season; it was why he was so happy being an ice harvester. When so many others complained about the back breaking work, the long hours spent away from family, and criticized the ice's destructive properties, Kristoff marveled at its multiple forms, how he could feel so at peace alone in the cold and how the ice supported life by becoming water or preserving other types of necessary supplies that people used everyday.

As much as it would kill Kristoff to end this winter, he knew it was for the best. Farmers were panicking as their crops withered and died beneath a blanket of snow, fish would be driven back into warmer waters, trade would suffer; people would starve and die. Whoever or whatever was causing this winter was making the kingdom suffer and they must have known what they were doing. Kristoff just hoped that he was going to be able to make a difference.

The young man rode in silence for the remainder of the journey, weaving his sled delicately around the large spikes of ice that seemed to warn away visitors. Reaching the last cliff before the peak, Kristoff hopped out of the sled to examine the sheer cliff face and trying to decide best how to scale it. He could hear Sven exploring behind him but paid the reindeer no mind until he whined to get Kristoff's attention.

"What is it, Sven?" Kristoff asked, not really paying attention.

The reindeer called again, finally getting Kristoff's attention and enthusiastically pointing towards a cave with his antlers.

"What?" Kristoff pressed, not seeing what the animal was trying to tell him.

Tired of trying to pantomime his findings, Sven walked directly into the small cave that his human friend was obviously too busy to notice. Seeing where Sven was headed, Kristoff ran to catch up.

"Woah, Sven, good job." Kristoff's voice echoed as he passed through the small tunnel which opened up to the peak of the mountain. "This is pretty convenient-. Woah!"

Kristoff cut himself off as the ice palace came into view. The castle was several stories high and made of solid ice with an ice staircase that lead right up to its doors. There was a large, snow covered boulder by the staircase and a long incline that would be an easier, if not steeper, way to head down the mountain than the way Kristoff had originally came.

Sven bleated joyfully and dashed up to the ice staircase, still pulling his sled behind him. Kristoff laughed and was about to call out to free him of the sled when the giant boulder began to move. Kristoff gasped as the boulder revealed itself to be a large, living, snowman. It was at least 10 feet tall with hallow eyes, large fists, and jagged ice protruding from its middle. Seeing the newcomers, the snowman roared, swinging its solid fists at the closest target, the reindeer.

"Sven, run!" Kristoff yelled, running forward towards his friend.

Sven turned, trying to avoid the incoming assault, but was unable to completely clear the sled. With a loud crash, the sled splintered under the force of the blow, and sending its contents flying. Now free of his hindrance, Sven turned and ran, desperate to lead the ice giant away from his friend. Kristoff, however, had grabbed the closest tool that landed near him and was now running towards the monster with a length of rope. He created a loop and swung the rope to catch the snowman in the legs, causing him to trip.

Kristoff searched around in the snow for another weapon when the snowman whined and pounded the ground with its fists like a small child. This made Kristoff pause. The monster was throwing a tantrum that his rampage had been interrupted. He was reminded on the troll children; they were so heavy, they didn't know their own strength and were dangerous to be around humans until they learned how to control themselves. Getting a sudden idea, Kristoff abandoned his search for a weapon and advanced towards the beast's face.

"You know that wasn't very nice, right?" Kristoff admonished the snowman. "You could have hurt someone."

The snowman stopped his tantrum to stare at the man. "Hurt?" He asked innocently.

Seizing his chance, Kristoff nodded gravely. "Yes, hurting people is bad. Didn't anyone ever tell you?"

The snowman shook his head no.

"Well, I guess we can forgive you his once since you didn't know any better." Kristoff continued, pretending as if he was talking to a small child. "Do you promise to behave?"

Again, the snowman nodded in the affirmative. Figuring things couldn't get any weirder than they already were, Kristoff released the giant's legs and stood back as it pulled itself into a seated position. Kristoff whistled for Sven, relieved as the reindeer came back after a moment's notice.

"So, big fella, what's your name?" Kristoff asked now that he knew the snowman could talk.

"Don't have one." He replied, his voice low and throaty.

"Well, that won't do." Kristoff muttered staring hard at the creature. He didn't seem very frightening now, in fact, he seemed downright cuddly. "How about Marshmallow?"

"Marsh… mallow?" The snowman sounded out the new word.

"Yeah, cause you're really just a big ol' softy." Kristoff concluded, patting him on the arm. The snowman looked positively delighted.

"Ok!" He agreed.

"Well, Marshmallow. I'm Kristoff and this is Sven!" He introduced himself.

"Kristoff! Sven!" Marshmallow nodded his understanding.

"Good. Now I need to go into this flawless ice palace…" He trailed off and tried to keep his voice from cracking. "Why don't you stay out here with Sven?"

"No visitors…" Marshmallow shook his head but seemed uncertain. He wasn't sure if it was no to all visitors or just no to the last 3 visitors that were here. Sensing the snowman's indecision, Kristoff offered a distraction.

"Tell you what, why don't I go inside for a minute while you play with Sven. Here you can throw-" He broke off as he picked up a piece of his destroyed sled. "You can throw this piece of my dreams- I mean piece of wood, and Sven will fetch it back. It's a game."

"A game?" Marshmallow repeated as Kristoff shoved the wood into his claws. Kristoff noticed that one of his hands looked misshapen.

"Yes, it's fun!" He said with mock enthusiasm. He threw a meaningful glance to Sven and the reindeer began to prance around, effectively distracting the snowman.

Trusting Sven to run if Marshmallow started playing too rough, Kristoff gathered his rope and an ice pick from the ground and snuck behind the snowman. He knew that the snowman wasn't the cause of this winter, he didn't have the brains. Whoever had done caused this winter had created the snow golem to keep anyone away from the ice castle.

Taking a deep breath, Kristoff quickly made it up the staircase, enjoying how the sunlight reflected off of the castle walls before he stood before the ornate door and marveled at the intricate snowflake that was carved on the door. He placed his palm against the door and pushed, amazed that it opened so easily.

"This is the most beautiful place I've ever seen." He mumbled under his breath.

He entered the castle and immediately had to bite back a moan at the sight inside. The magnificent archways, the detailed ice fountain; it was as if someone had made these beautiful sculptures especially for him. He was finding it difficult to reconcile the beauty of what he was seeing with the idea of a kingdom wide curse. He wandered up to the next level, nearly squeaking with happiness with each room he passed until he reached the top of the stairs and found himself face to face with an indoor blizzard.

The wind roared, drowning out all other sound and the snow was so thick, Kristoff could barely see 3 feet in front of him. Gulping, Kristoff pulled in scarf up to protect as much of his face as he could and raised his ice pick to prepare to attack anything that might jump out at him. He slowly made his way to the cause of the storm, trying to mentally prepare himself for whatever malevolent being could be the cause. Was it an angry spirit, determined to rid the land of people? Was it a witch, seeking revenge for some perceived slight? Kristoff had thought he was prepared for anything and so when he began to see the outline of a figure in the snow, his adrenaline began pumping and drew back his weapon.

He closed the distance between himself and the figure with a leap, swinging his ice pick with a roar. The figure screamed, its high voice throwing off Kristoff's expectations and causing him to hesitate. Suddenly, ice formed up from the ground to surround his ice pick, freezing it in mid-air. The ice spread to try and encase his hand as well but Kristoff released his grip on the weapon and fell backwards, away from the formation.

Kristoff pushed up from the ground, trying to get back on his feet in case of another attack but what he saw he was unprepared for. Against the wall with their knees pulled to their chest and one hand raised protectively to ward off another attack, was a girl with tears streaming down her face.

A crying girl. He had attacked a crying girl. She had to have been no older than he was, with platinum blonde hair that looked almost white and a blue gown on. He gazed into her eyes and noticed the intense look of fear she was giving him.

"Oh no." Kristoff mumbled. "What have I done?"

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**Whew, Kristoff. What are you doing? Next chapter soon!**


	15. Chapter 15

**Author's Note:**

**So I'm supposed to be getting ready for a party right now but I'm posting this chapter instead. Priorities. Yup, I have them. Enjoy.**

**I don't own Frozen**

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Chapter 15

The blizzard had ceased; the need to see the assailant greater than Elsa's emotional turmoil at the moment. She had been so wrapped up in her guilt and fear that she hadn't noticed the attacker until he was swinging his weapon at her. She had screamed and lifted her arms to protect her head, her magic automatically freezing the weapon and sending her assailant flying back.

This was the first time she had been attacked as it was difficult for people to discover her secret when she confined to her room. Now Elsa was wondering if she should run or if she should stay and fight. The idea of fighting was abhorrent to her. The man who had attacked her had his face covered with a scarf and was now laying on the ground with his arms spread out to his side.

Several minutes passed by with no movement from either party. The adrenaline slowly faded from Elsa's veins and her breathing slowed. She stood, edging closer to the door and watching for any sign of movement from the man lying on the ground. The longer the stranger was still the more Elsa's concern rose. She gazed at the new addition to her palace, the ice encasing a sharp pick of some sort, leaving only the handle exposed. Was it possible that she had injured him when the ice had formed?

Elsa's stomach dropped at the idea. Was there any purpose to her powers other than hurting people? First Anna, then all of Arendelle. Was this person even still breathing? Elsa decided that she needed to know if her powers had endangered someone else.

"Um, hello?" Elsa bit her lip. "Are you-? Are you alright?"

Instead of answering, Kristoff pushed himself up into a sitting position and removed the scarf from his face with a disbelieving look on his face. Not expecting his sudden movements, Elsa gasped and jumped back. Kristoff knew he was scaring the girl but he was too shocked to care. Was she being serious?

"Are _you_ seriously asking _ME_, the guy who _attacked_ you, if I'm ok?" He asked disbelievingly.

"Oh I don't-. I mean…" Elsa was shaking her head, unsure of the direction this conversation was going. "I was just… um, checking."

Kristoff sighed and sat cross legged on the floor. "I'm sorry about that, by the way. Attacking you. I won't try to make any excuses. I came up here to try and reverse this winter so when I came up here and saw that blizzard raging I just thought… Well I was just expecting an evil witch, a monster, army of evil penguins, I dunno."

Elsa's heart tightened at his description. "Well, you found me alright."

"Yeah, but after seeing this palace, and your snowman? I really should have known better." He told her quietly, shaking his head.

"What do you mean?" Elsa asked, confused.

"I just mean I should have known better than to jump to the conclusion that you were evil after seeing this place. I mean, it's beautiful! The design is amazing and the ice is flawless." Kristoff began babbling off topic. "I mean, I spent the last ten minutes staring at the chandelier." He pointed up. "And the snowman-"

"How did you get past my snowman?" Elsa asked, curious. She had thought that he would have kept people away from here.

"Oh, Marshmallow? He's just a big softy." Kristoff scoffed. "He's outside playing with Sven."

"Marshmallow?" Elsa repeated. "And who is-? You know what? I don't even want to know."

"I mean, don't get me wrong. Marshmallow did take a couple of swipes at me, but I told him-" Kristoff cut himself off and hung his head. "I told him that hurting people was wrong. I guess I should take my own advice, huh?"

Elsa's lips twitched, wanting to pull up into a smile, but she held it off. She had to admit that he sounded remorseful, but he had just tried to kill her so she couldn't really trust him. Right now all she wanted was to find a way to get him out of here.

"Look, maybe you should go…" Elsa suggested.

"Kristoff." He informed her as she trailed off.

"What?" She asked, not really understanding what he was saying.

"My name. It's Kristoff." He repeated.

"Oh! Um, I'm…" She trailed off.

How should she introduce herself? It seemed wrong to introduce herself as Princess since she was crowned a few days ago, but it was still strange to think of herself as Queen, especially after she had betrayed the kingdom by freezing it and running away. Since she didn't have any immediate plans to return to Arendelle she supposed the issue of her rule was pointless anyways.

"I'm Elsa." She managed, not really meeting Kristoff's eyes.

"Well, hi." Kristoff replied. The two stayed silent for a moment before Kristoff broached the subject that was eating away at his curiosity. "So… You have ice magic?"

Elsa nodded. Kristoff waited for her to add more but the girl stayed silent.

"So was the magic something that happened recently, or…?" He trailed off.

Elsa sighed. This was definitely the first time she has conversed with anyone her own age besides her sister and outside of her father and the council of advisors that helped her prior to her coronation, she hardly ever spent any time around men. She eyed Kristoff warily. He looked burly and Elsa could see a small amount of blonde hair poking out of his fur cap, but she couldn't tell how tall he was because he was seated on the floor. She really wasn't interested in answering his questions but he made her nervous and her nervousness was making her talkative. She hoped that his questions would satisfy his curiosity and then he would leave.

"I was born with it, we think." She told him.

"Who's 'we'?" He asked, glad she was actually answering him.

"My parents." Elsa sighed. "It started when I was young, around 8 years old, so we're not too sure…"

"So you've had years to practice. It shows, this place is very well done." Kristoff complimented, thinking of the palace.

"No, actually. My father wanted me to conceal my powers." She said quietly.

"Well that was a bust, huh?" Kristoff teased. Elsa leveled him with a deadly stare. Kristoff scoffed. "Oh, come on that was funny."

"This isn't a laughing matter." Elsa retorted.

Kristoff sighed mockingly. "No, you're right. There are several ice harvesters who are losing precious business due to all the free ice that's now available." He saw she still wasn't moved by his attempts at comedy for he continued. "Come on, I'm sure you can just unfreeze everything."

"This isn't funny!" Elsa snapped, her emotions getting the better of her and light snow beginning to fall. "I'm dangerous! 8 years old and I nearly killed my sister, now I freeze the entire kingdom! And I've never unfrozen anything in my life!" She added.

"What?" Kristoff blanched.

Snow continued to fall and Kristoff was silent as he processed this new information. If she had never unfrozen anything, what hope was there for the kingdom? He sighed and ran through their conversation again. She had mentioned hurting someone and Kristoff wondered what had happened to them. Were they frozen solid in a block of ice?

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**Short chapter. Sorry, but I really do have to get ready. New chapter tomorrow. Probably.**


	16. Chapter 16

**Author's Note:**

**Ok, I am having a crazy hard week. I will console myself with giving you guys another chapter. More KristElsa here. I hope you all like it.**

**I do not own Frozen**

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Chapter 16

Kristoff let minutes pass by before he spoke again.

"So you have a sister? And there was an accident when you were younger?" Kristoff tried piecing together what she had said.

"Yes, she was my best friend and I hurt her. It was only thanks to some trolls that she survived. After that my father made me suppress my powers." Elsa explained, hugging herself again.

"Wait, did you say trolls?" Kristoff asked, distracted.

Elsa nodded. "My father knew where to find them and they were able to save my sister."

"Trolls?" Kristoff asked, jumping to his feet. Elsa stepped back in response to Kristoff's sudden movements, eyeing him warily. "I was raised by trolls!"

"What?" She asked. She hadn't expected him to know about the trolls.

"When I was a kid, my parents died. One night, Sven and I stumbled into the Valley of the Living Rock. Once they found out we were alone, they kind of took us in." Kristoff smiled fondly. "They've been my family for a long time now."

"Really?" She asked doubtfully.

"You know, if they had been able to help you then, maybe they know a way to thaw this winter." Kristoff suggested. "I could take you to them."

"Oh, I don't know…" She trailed off.

"Come on, let me do this." He implored. "I want to make up for earlier."

She certainly was intrigued by the possibility of a solution but was uneasy about travelling with him. He certainly seemed sincere but that layer of doubt was still present. But if there was a possibility to save Arendelle from this winter, could she really turn it down? Her thoughts were interrupted as her stomach began to rumble loud enough to be heard across the room. Embarrassed, she crossed her arms over her stomach and willed the noise to stop.

"Are you hungry?" Kristoff asked.

He looked around the room for any source of food and was surprised that the entire room was empty of any supplies. The entrance, too, had been devoid of anything that wasn't made of ice.

"What have you been eating?" He asked. "Where have you been sitting, or sleeping for that matter?"

"I kind of left in a hurry." Elsa shrugged. "There wasn't time to pack anything."

"How long?" He pressed. He mentally tabulated when the magical winter started when she answered.

"Uh, I think it's been about 3 days." Elsa shrugged.

"3 days!" Kristoff exclaimed. "No, that's too long. Come on, I have some food outside."

He waved her forward but then his ice pick grabbed his attention. He walked up to the new ice formation, bracing himself slightly before grasping the handle and pulling it free, shattering the ice. Elsa gasped, startled at his show of strength and slightly frightened. Kristoff smiled wryly before putting the pick to hang on his belt.

"Sorry, but this ice pick is one of the essential tools for harvesting ice. I can't just leave it here." He shrugged. "Especially when it cost me an arm and a leg to buy out of season. Anyways, let's go grab you something to eat."

He took a step forward and frowned when Elsa backed away from him again; he just couldn't do anything right. Figuring that he might as well let his actions speak for themselves, he strode forward and grasped Elsa's wrist, ignoring her protests and pulling her along down the stairs.

Elsa was practically in shock as Kristoff led her down the stairs. She didn't know what to make of this man. First he attacks her and then he promises to feed her. He was about a head taller than her, his wide shoulders seemed especially broad in comparison to her petite form. She glanced down to where his hand grasped her wrist. He wasn't hurting her, it was just foreign. Elsa hadn't had physical contact with anyone in a long time and the last time someone had grabbed her wrist like this was when her father had grabbed her the night she had hurt Anna. Thinking about that night caused her anxiety to spike and she saw as Kristoff's glove was slowly covered in ice.

Kristoff ignored the stinging cold as his glove frosted over, the heavy leather protecting him from the worst of it. He wondered if she was freezing his glove unconsciously because of her fear. It seemed likely that it was simply a reflex after he witnessed the snow beginning to fall upstairs when she had gotten upset. He wondered what would have been so bad as to cause the blizzard he had found her in or cause the entire country to freeze.

"Ok, here we go." Kristoff had reached the front doors and lead Elsa down the stairs and he released her arm, absently shedding the ice from his glove.

Hearing someone emerge from the castle, Marshmallow and Sven stopped their game of fetch and bounded over to the two humans. Marshmallow surprised Elsa by picking her up into a hug shouting 'Mama' and making her squirm before setting her back down onto the ground. Kristoff didn't even bother to hold back his smile at the snowman's antics.

"Oh, no. What happened?" Elsa asked, seeing the snowman's misshapen hand.

"Sword." He answered her.

"Sword? What do you mean-?" Elsa gasped as she realized what happened. "Anna and what's his name?"

Marshmallow nodded.

"I'm sorry." Elsa said, feeling responsible for the injury.

Wanting to fix him, Elsa concentrated her powers on his arm, letting the magic spread out through her fingertips. The snow on Marshmallow's arm reformed, making it good as new and giving Elsa a surge of pride that her magic had acted in the way she wanted. Kristoff was touched by the way Elsa had cared for her creation. He shook head as the giant bounded off again, wanting to try out his repaired arm. Kristoff scratched Sven on the head and lead him over to Elsa who was currently gazing up at the ice palace as if only seeing it for the first time.

"Elsa, this is Sven." Kristoff introduced them, gesturing between the two. "Sven, this is Elsa."

"Nice to meet you, Sven." Elsa said quietly, talking directly to the reindeer.

Brightened by Elsa's kind words for his reindeer friend, he put on his best 'Sven' voice.

"Hi, Elsa!" He said for the animal. "Sorry for Kristoff being such an idiot."

Sven rushed forward and licked Elsa's face in welcome, baying happily. Elsa wiped her face, but laughed softly at the enthusiastic welcome. Kristoff laughed now that he was finally able to get Elsa to relax a bit.

"At least Sven is able to make you laugh." He joked, smiling at her. "You should laugh more, you have a nice laugh."

Elsa blushed slightly, unsure how to respond. Kristoff grimaced slightly, wondering what possessed him to say that but shook the thought out of him mind. He had promised Elsa something to eat so he began to flip through the ruins of his sled to find whatever had survived Marshmallow's onslaught. He was able to grab a bag of personal items, the length of rope, a couple of blankets, and the bag of carrots but everything else was crushed.

"What was all this?" Elsa asked, eyeing the wreckage.

"My, uh, sled." Kristoff answered. "This is about all I was able to salvage."

"I'll replace your sled and whatever else wasn't salvageable." Elsa said guiltily. She had wanted Marshmallow to keep people away not crush them.

"Don't worry about it." Kristoff figured she was just saying that because she felt bad. He doubted she could really replace the expensive sled. "Anyways, it just means that it will take longer for us to get to the Valley of the Living Rock. Unless…"

Elsa was almost scared to ask. "Unless what?"

"Well, Sven's harness is pretty much intact." Kristoff shrugged. "If you were able to make a whole castle, you should be able to make an ice sled."

"You want me to make a sled?" Elsa asked, eyebrows raised.

"Oh come on, it would be easy for you!" He encouraged. "Just make the runners, a strong loop on either side for Sven's harness, and the main body with a seat and a bed for cargo!"

Elsa sighed. She wasn't entirely sure that she could make an adequate sled but it was better than the alternative of walking the whole way. Breathing deeply, Elsa gathered the magic in her palms and tossed it to the ground while picturing a sled. The magic twisted and grew until it formed the sled she had been picturing. Kristoff let out a low whistle as he walked around Elsa's newest creation, causing her to smile.

"Nice, very nice." He complimented. "A little girlie with all the snowflakes, but nice."

Elsa studied the vehicle in surprise. It wasn't her fault that almost everything she produced was covered was styled with the same, detailed, snowflake. She gazed at Kristoff to see him smirking at her and she scowled when she realized he was teasing. He laughed and hooked up Sven's harness before throwing the few items he had in the back, spread out one of his blankets over the seat and settled himself in.

"Well, are you coming?" He asked expectantly.

"I'm still debating." Elsa said wryly. "My parents did teach me to be wary around strangers."

"Sound advice." Kristoff agreed. "But I don't think we qualify as strangers anymore, do you?"

Elsa held his gaze for a moment, contemplating. It's true that she had only know this man for a handful of minutes and that he had attacked her, but every action since then had been kind. It was possible that his information about the trolls was false and that he could possibly be leading her into a trap, but the draw for a solution was too powerful to pass up. She supposed that if he tried anything she could freeze him in place long enough for her to get away.

"I suppose not." Elsa sighed, stepping up onto the sled.

"I have another blanket here in case you get cold." Kristoff offered.

"The cold never bothered me." Elsa informed him, settling in on the seat.

"I guess I should have known that." He chuckled. "Well, here."

He gave her a small bundle. Elsa unwrapped it to find a small bunch of carrots and some bread.

"Thank you." She said quietly, taking a small bite out of one of the carrots.

She hadn't realized how hungry she had been without eating for several days and began alternating between small bites of the carrots and the bread. At the sound of the crunch, Sven turned around expectantly, staring at the vegetable in Elsa's hands. He made a lunge at it, snapping his teeth since the food was out of reach.

"No, Sven! We have to share." Kristoff admonished him. The reindeer groaned in frustration before turning forward.

Kristoff gently snapped the reins and Sven pulled the new formed sled forward. They passed Marshmallow as he waved to the group with his restored hand, Kristoff and Elsa waving back awkwardly to the snowman as they headed down the mountain.

"Come on, let's go home, Sven." Kristoff told the reindeer who grunted in acknowledgement.

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**Cuties. I love them. Next chapter Friday. **


	17. Chapter 17

**Author's Note:**

**Hello, thank you to everyone who reviewed, I really love reading your feedback. I was supposed to update yesterday but I had forgotten it was Valentine's day and well, I forgot. Sorry. To make up, here is an extra long chapter for you. **

**I do not own Frozen**

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Chapter 17

Hans urged their horse forward, willing it to go faster. He held Anna close to his body but could still feel her shivering against him. Olaf was hanging on to the saddle from behind him, hanging on for dear life due to their speed. Hans had urged the horse to continue through the night, their trip down the mountain quicker than their search now that they knew where they were going. It was late morning when the party reached the castle gates, Hans dismounting and carrying Anna into the safety of the castle with Olaf on their heels.

"Someone build a fire!" Hans ordered.

"Over here!" One of the servants pointed to a room that already had a roaring fire.

Hans deposited Anna as close to the fire as was safe before stepping back. Anna shivered but felt the relief of the heat immediately.

"Thank you." Anna smiled weakly.

"Of course." Hans sighed. "I'm going to go see what I can find out. Stay here."

"Princess Anna! What happened?" Kai and Gerda burst through the doors, rushing to the princess' side. After checking the princess for any injury, Kai rounded on Hans.

"What happened?" The older man demanded.

"We found the queen but she had no idea that the kingdom was frozen over." He explained. "When she found out, she struck Anna with her powers. Her hair has been tuning white and now she's freezing. We came back as fast as we could to see if there was any information on how to help her."

"Dear Lord!" Kai gasped. "Come with me. I'll take you to the library. Gerda, stay with the princess."

The older woman nodded.

"What about me?" Olaf asked from the corner. Both servants gasped at the small creature that they had missed but Anna ignored them.

"Sweetie, you should go with Hans. You'll melt if you stay too close to the fire." Anna told him. "I think I'm going to sleep for a bit."

"Ok, Hans I can help you look for your book! Sleep well, Anna." He said excitedly.

"Great, come on Olaf." Hans gave Kai a pointed look causing the older man to lead them towards the library.

"Here we are, sir." Kai opened the double doors and let them in.

Hans immediately rushed to the bookshelves and began scanning the titles. Olaf waddled forward to scan the titles on the bottom shelves. Kai was about to help but he couldn't get over the talking snowman. Figuring it would be best to ask he cleared his throat.

"Um, sir, about the snowman…" He trailed off.

Hans did bother stopping his search as he answered.

"Oh, yes. This is Olaf." He explained. "The Queen made him and he has been a wonderful help. Say 'hello' Olaf."

"Hi! I'm Olaf and I like warm hugs!" Olaf ran and gave Kai a hug.

"Well… Alright then." Kai said, unable to think of anything else.

For several minutes, the 3 of them searched the library for any material regarding the Queen's powers but came up empty. The library doubled as a study so Hans began to go through a few of the desks that were towards the back of the room. One particular desk had a drawer that wouldn't open easy until Hans yanked the entire thing apart from the desk.

"What the-?" Hans muttered, grabbing several leather bound books.

"Did you find something?" Kai asked, joining Hans at the desk.

"Yeah, these." He started flipping through them. "They're the previous king's journals! Why would they be in here?"

"Well, after the King and Queen died, almost everything remained the same for 3 years. It was only a few month prior to Elsa's coronation that we hastily prepared the studies and the royal suite for her use. I suppose the others simply put everything in here."

"Let's see if he knew anything about reversing the Queen's powers." Hans grabbed the nearest journal and begin to read.

"I don't know, sir." Kai shook his head. "The King and Queen spent years trying to suppress Queen Elsa's powers; I don't believe they ever understood them."

"It doesn't hurt to look." Hans flipped open the journal to the middle and began to read out loud.

"_Another frustrating day. Elsa's tutors tell me that her lessons are progressing quite well but every time I decide to test the girl, she stutters and her powers run wild; most unbecoming for the heir to the throne. Her eighteenth birthday is approaching and so is her presentation to Arendelle as the official heir. I spent 3 hours trying to prepare her to give a speech but it was a fruitless day. I fear to put Elsa in close contact with so many people in case another incident occurs."_

"Incident? What kind of incident?" Hans asked Kai.

"None of us quite know." The man shrugged. "When the Princesses were young something happened. We were never told why, only that we were never to mention Queen Elsa's powers to Princess Anna. It became apparent that the Princess could not remember her sister had magic and she got that white streak in her hair…"

"Let's see if there is something in here about it." Hans suggested. The skimmed through several of the journals before Hans found the right one. "Here it is!"

"_Tonight was a complete and utter disaster. Elsa struck Anna in the head with her powers and nearly killed the younger girl. My wife was panicking, Elsa was crying and Anna was unconscious. Luckily, I had been researching ways to bind Elsa's cursed powers and had discovered the existence of a troll village not far from the kingdom. There was a map included in the ancient book which was indispensable to finding it. _

_We raced to the Valley of Living Rock and the elder troll was able to heal Anna. He informed us that it was lucky she hadn't been struck in the heart, which is nearly fatal. He was, unfortunately, unable to strip Elsa's magic which dooms us with the task of concealing them. The elder troll altered Anna's memories of her sister so that Anna would be unaware of her powers until she is older but if we are able to suppress Elsa's powers, Anna never need find out. I've decided that Elsa be kept away from others. It's a plan I've had since her odd powers since manifested several months ago. Shut away, I can force Elsa to suppress the magic until she can control and conceal it. I fear for this kingdom should Elsa take the throne any time prior to complete and total control._"

Hans stopped reading aloud, feeling saddened. "How old were the princesses when this occurred?"

"I believe Queen Elsa was 8 years old and Princess Anna was 5." Kai answered absently. So much of the girl's lives now made sense to him.

Hans frowned thinking about what it must have been like for the Queen as a child. Anna had said the sisters had been best friends until Elsa had locked herself away. But according to this, it was their father that locked her away. To be 8 years old and wake up one morning to find yourself different, without your best friend and alone? It sounded very lonesome and reminded Hans about how he felt when his mother was sent away. He thought back to when he saw the Queen on the mountain. He had been so consumed with how Anna was, he had hardly spared a glance at her sister.

"_Please, you all just need to go."_

"_You're not safe here."_

Now that he thought back, Queen Elsa had only been concerned with getting Anna as far away from herself as possible. Was it because she believed herself dangerous? A monster? He felt as though he was beginning to understand the Queen a bit more.

Hans sighed as his thoughts drifted to Anna. He would have to tell her. She deserved to know why her childhood had been so lonely and to know that her memories were altered. At least Hans had found what he was looking for. The existence of trolls was surprising but if they had healed her once, maybe they could do it again. The sound of the library door closing snapped him back to the present but it seemed as if he wasn't the only one who wasn't paying attention. Kai and Olaf both turned towards the door.

"Did we close that door before?" Hans asked.

"I can't recall." Kai answered, heading to stick his head out of the library but there was nobody in the hallway. "No one here, sir."

"Alright, well let's find this book that's mentioned here." Hans said. They scoured the shelves again until Olaf shouted.

"I think I found it!" He struggled to pull a large book off one of the shelves.

Hans rushed over help grab the book. He flipped through it for a moment before pulling out a map leading to were the trolls resided. "This is it, Olaf! You're the best!"

"Oh you!" The snowman giggled.

"Well let's go tell Anna. She was struck in the chest which the book said is nearly fatal. We have to set out as soon as possible." Hans grabbed the map but left the book and ran out of room with the others right behind him.

"Anna! We found it! Let's go!" Olaf shouted as he entered the room.

Anna was lying close to the fire with a blanket over her but stirred when she heard the others enter. Hans rushed to Anna's side and helped her sit up while Olaf bounced around in the background.

"What is it? What happened?" Anna asked, still groggy from her nap.

"We found a way to help you but we need to leave now." Hans turned to Kai. "Can you prepare a sleigh of some sort? I don't think she would be able to make it there on horseback."

"Of course!" Kai ran from the room.

"Wait, Hans! What did you find out?" Anna asked, still not following.

"We found your father's journals and a book that leads to a village of trolls nearby that can help reverse your sister's magic." He explained.

"Wait, what? Trolls-? What?" Anna stammered.

"It's a long story that I will tell you on the way but we have to get going now before it's too late." Hans assured her.

"I'm going to grab a few of the books we left behind in case we need them." Olaf told Hans.

"Good thinking, Olaf." He nodded his consent and watched as Olaf waddled from the room.

In all the relief of finding a possible solution, Hans had left the journals out. It would probably be wise to have them on hand for Anna to read over. Hans doubted he would be able to recall everything he had read in the event she had questions. Hans and Gerda led Anna from the room. The headed to the entrance hall where a group of men were rushing about. Hans was surprised to see Kai arguing with someone so he made sure that Anna was fully supported with Gerda before seeing what the commotion was about.

"Kai, are we ready to travel?" Hans asked.

"No, your highness!" Kai started but was interrupted by a cold voice.

"Prince Hans, we need all available resources to go after the witch. We really can't spare anything at the moment." The Duke of Weselton stepped around Kai to reveal himself.

"You!" Anna exclaimed.

"Yes, me." The Duke sneered. "I should thank you, Hans. If it wasn't for you, my men never would have discovered that the Princess had been attacked by her own sister or that ever the late King had his doubts about crowning an evil sorceress."

"What? How did you-?" Hans' eyes narrowed in dislike. "You were spying at the door!"

"Of course not! How unsightly." The Duke smiled cruelly. "A concerned citizen overheard you and I can't deny that the information was useful."

"How so!?" Hans huffed. Their argument was drawing the guests from their rooms and now several dignitaries and their spouses were watching with rapt attention.

"We you see, the other visitors and I feel that if Queen Elsa was willing to attack her own sister she was certainly capable of freezing Arendelle to curse its people." He concluded.

"It wasn't like that!" Anna yelled.

"My, even many of the townspeople will be convinced of the Queen's guilt after hearing about how her own father never trusted her." He added happily. "So now we've decided to handle this as we should have in the first place. I had already sent my own envoy ahead to track the Queen's whereabouts. He should be returning soon."

"You can't do this!" Hans reached down to grab his sword and was surprised when his scabbard was empty. "Damn, I left it on the mountain."

"Arrest them!" The Duke yelled, stepping away. "They are trying to stop us from finding the Queen! She must have them under some sort of spell!"

There was an instant uproar. Several men rushed forward to grab Hans' arms despite his struggles. Several of the dignitaries who had come to see the commotion were shouting in protest at the Duke while others simply turned and fled from the scene. Among the ones who stayed where the young couple from Corona, the brunette Princess attempting to run down the stairs to aid them. Turning, Hans watched 2 men attempt to capture Gerda and Anna and another 3 men wrestled Kai to the ground. Olaf rounded a corner, his little stick arms piled with books when he saw Anna being dragged away.

"Anna, no!" Olaf throw one of the books he was carrying at Anna's captor, hitting him in the head.

"Dear Lord! What is that abomination!?" The Duke shouted. "Destroy it!"

"Olaf, no!" Anna cried, still struggling to free herself.

Hans used the distraction to break free of his captor's grip. He grabbed one the closest sword from the belt of the man to his left and ran to the doors. Hans swung down, breaking the lock, and then kicked the door open to reveal an icy wind. 2 men were closing in on Olaf so Hans hit one with the butt of the sword and began to grapple with the other.

"Olaf! Go!" Hans yelled.

"Okay! I'll go get help!" Olaf ran. "Hang in there guys!"

Olaf ran out the castle doors, weaving around the men who tried to grab him. He existed the castle gates and headed across the frozen fjord where he threw himself onto his stomach and slid towards the forest.

Inside the castle, Hans was still attempting to hold off as many attackers as he could. If he could just get to Anna, they could run for it but he was slowly becoming overwhelmed. It finally took 4 men to knock the prince unconscious, Hans lying face down in the castle's entryway.

"Hans, no!" Anna screamed.

"Take them all to the dungeons!" The Duke ordered.

"You can't do this!" The young woman from Corona was red in the face, fist balled at her sides, despite her companion trying to hold her back.

"My dear, unless you want to join them I suggest you return to your room." The Duke said coldly.

"Well, maybe I-!" She stared but was interrupted.

"Rapunzel, no." The girls' companion stopped her. He turned to address the Duke. "We'll return to our rooms now."

"Wise choice." The Duke turned and left the hall.

"Eugene!" Rapunzel shouted angrily at her husband as he pushed her towards the room. "We can't just let them throw the Princess in the dungeon!"

"I know, but you can't just go challenging the guy who's trying to seize power!" He huffed. "All that's going to get you is locked up!"

"But she's my cousin!" Rapunzel whined, throwing herself onto the large bed.

"Look, I know you had wanted this trip to go differently. Celebrate the coronation, connect with your cousins. I get it! You didn't even get the chance to give them the news you're related." Eugene tried to placate her. "But things have changed and you have be more careful. My first priority is keeping you safe."

"But we have to do something!" Rapunzel insisted.

"Hey, I never said we'd do nothing…" Eugene said nonchalantly. Rapunzel brightened.

"Do you have a plan?" She asked excitedly.

"I always have a plan." Eugene smiled deviously. "I think it's time for the return of Flynn Rider!"

"Yay!" Rapunzel cheered, leaping up from the bed and dancing around the room.

* * *

**Have a good weekend everybody. **


	18. Chapter 18

**Author's Note:**

**Hello, I feel like it's been a while since the last update, sorry. :( I am preparing to move so it has been really hectic and stressful.**

**alessa-vulturi a****sked me in the reviews how the Duke was able to seize control so quickly with only 2 men. My thinking on this comes from my belief that many of the villagers/guards/and new servants would NOT be loyal to Elsa because of fear. Remember that they haven't seen Elsa for 13 years and the fear of the unknown can be a very powerful motivator. Also remember that Weselton provides Arendelle with a lot of their goods and many adults will have remembered that fact. **

**Well, here is the next chapter. It is a KristElsa chapter for you guys. **

**I do not own Frozen**

* * *

Chapter 18

Kristoff couldn't help feeling really awkward. They had been traveling for a couple of hours in silence. Not that silence bothered him. In fact, he usually preferred silence. But silence was awkward when one person still felt guilty from nearly murdering the other. Kristoff cast a sideways glance at his companion, observing her subtly. Elsa was sitting ramrod straight, her hands folded in her lap now that her meager meal was finished. Her hair was a platinum blonde held back in a messy braid and her skin was pale like the snow. She was wearing a dress that was made of ice but it suited her. What Kristoff couldn't help staring at were her eyes. They were an icy blue but full of so much emotion; like right now. She was staring out of the sled in obvious sadness.

"Hey, what's the matter?" He asked softly.

"It's true." She closed her eyes. "Everything is frozen over and it's completely my fault."

"Oh, hey. Come on." He lightly nudged her with his elbow. "You didn't mean for this to happen, right?"

"I swear, I didn't do this on purpose." Elsa promised. Her eyes were full of unshed tears as they bored into his, begging him to believe her. She seemed so vulnerable, so unsure.

"Ok, I believe you." Kristoff sighed. "It was an accident. But now we'll find a way to put it right and everything will be fine. So calm down, ok? You're going to make it snow again." He teased.

"Sorry." She replied, cringing.

"I didn't mean it like that." He said frowning. "I meant, like, cheer up."

"Oh." Elsa replied.

She took everything so seriously. He was about to speak again when Sven slowed to a stop. The reindeer whined and turned his head back and forth while his ears tried to zero in on some far off sound.

"What's going-?" Elsa's question was silenced when Kristoff pressed his gloved hand to her mouth.

Kristoff hushed her with a finger up to his mouth and removed his other hand. Led by Sven's sudden wariness, Kristoff scanned his surroundings. Elsa was becoming alarmed, Kristoff could tell; the ice sled was growing small spikes. Suddenly, a hissing noise rushed past his head, making Kristoff jerk back as an arrow embedded itself into the ice. Turning around, Kristoff saw a man on horseback in the distance, barreling towards them with a crossbow aloft.

"Sven, go!" He shouted, snapping the reins. As the reindeer picked up speed, another arrow whizzed past their heads.

"Get back here, witch!" The assailant shouted, taking aim again.

"Guess we know why he's here!" Kristoff commented sarcastically as another arrow imbedded in the sled.

"Oh no!" Elsa gasped, terrified by this second attack.

"Get down!" Kristoff pushed her head down so that it would be blocked by the sled. "Elsa! I need you to put a barrier to protect our heads!"

"Wh- what?" Elsa stammered, too stressed to understand what he was asking.

"Like a sheet coming out from the sled." He mimed what he needed.

"I don't- I mean, I can't!" Elsa's powers had always been out of control when she was upset. She didn't think she could control it at the moment. Seeing that she was too upset to use her powers, Kristoff tried to sooth her.

"Ok, it's fine. I'll take care of it." Kristoff assured her. He grabbed the length of rope and his ice pick from the back.

"What are you doing?" Elsa asked.

"Taking care of it." He told her before addressing Sven. "Sven keep going!"

"Kristopher, no!" Elsa protested as she realized what he was going to do. He smiled.

"It's Kristoff. But don't worry, I'll be fine." He assured her before angling his body and throwing himself from the sled.

"Kristoff!" Elsa shouted as she watched him roll to a stop.

Kristoff leaped to his feet, disoriented and with his leg a bit sore. He ran to the closest tree and secured the rope to it before hiding behind it. He watch briefly as Sven and Elsa rode farther away before turning his attention to the approaching horseman. Just before the horse would have crossed him, Kristoff darted out, pulling the rope tight and tripping the horse. The horse's rider flew off and landed in the snow while Kristoff quickly jabbed the horse with his ice pick in the behind. It was only a minor injury, meant to startle more than anything else. The horse reared and ran away without its rider, leaving Kristoff alone with the man who was now getting shakily to his feet.

"Do you know what you're doing, boy!?" The man sneered in an unfamiliar accent. "I need to kill the witch to stop this god forsaken winter!"

"I'm pretty sure I'm stopping you from attacking my friend." He answered.

He knew 'friend' really wasn't the correct term seeing as he had attempted what this man was doing now, only hours ago, but he figured it was a good a reason as any to give the man. The older man sneered and drew his sword, causing Kristoff to back up a few steps. His opponent would have none of that since he lunged, taking a swipe at Kristoff. Kristoff blocked the swing with his ice pick but wasn't so lucky on the next attempt. The sword sliced at his arm before he could jump out of reach, ripping his clothes and drawing blood. Kristoff hissed in pain while the man only smiled.

"What are you gonna do now, boy?" He laughed.

Knowing that he was no good in close quarters, Kristoff turned and ran. He wove in and out of the large, snow covered, trees and knew he was being pursued by the laughter he heard behind him. His opponent gaining on him, Kristoff spotted a tree that was so full of snow that it was bent over. He dashed to treetop that was now touching the ground, grabbing it with his good arm. The man ran straight for him, thinking that Kristoff had stopped because of his injury.

With all of his strength, Kristoff yanked the tree, disturbing the snow and causing the tree to snap back up. One of the lower branches caught the older man in the stomach knocking off his feet and throwing him airborne once again. Releasing a sigh of relief, Kristoff wandered over to where he lay in the snow, slightly groaning but mostly unconscious. Kristoff ran back to where to he had abandoned the sled, whistling loudly now that the danger had passed.

* * *

Elsa was panicking. Sven had dragged the sled for a bit before slowing and was now waiting idly by despite how many times Elsa tried to get him moving. She wanted to double back and see what had happened to Kristoff.

"Come on, Sven." She tried snapping the reins but the he just ignored her. "Don't you want to check on your friend?"

Nothing. Elsa frowned. Was there some special way to get him moving?

"Mush! Go! Start!" She shouted, trying to motivate him. "Let's go! Yip, yip!"

Sven turned his head and towards her and Elsa could have sworn he gave her an exasperated look. A low whistle was filtering through the trees causing Sven's ears to perk up. The reindeer bayed happily and trotted towards the noise. Elsa scowled.

"Really? Now you decide to move?" She asked the animal sarcastically. Sven huffed in response and Elsa rolled her eyes.

Sven traveled towards the whistling, breaking out into a run when he spotted Kristoff standing in the snow. Elsa was relieved to see that Kristoff was still standing but that relief turned to worry when he staggered over to the sled, grasping his left arm.

"Are you alright?" She asked as he pulled himself onto the seat next to her and urged Sven back on course.

"Yeah, I twisted my ankle jumping and I got a small cut from that guy back there." He moved the hand covering the injury, revealing the tear in his shirt which was seeping blood.

"That looks bad." Elsa commented.

"It's not as bad as it looks but I should still wrap it up." He shrugged.

Kristoff reached in his bag to grab one of his spare shirts. With his good hand he tore a long strip of cloth from the bottom, ruining the shirt but creating an adequate bandage. He tried to tie it around his wound but was struggling with only one gloved hand. Sighing, he held out his makeshift bandage to Elsa.

"Do you mind?" He asked. "Just wrap it around and tie it tightly."

Elsa shook her head to indicate that she did not mind and hesitantly took the cloth from Kristoff. She did as he instructed, pausing only when he winced as she was tying the knot but he encouraged her to continue.

"How's that?" She asked.

"That's much better, thanks." Kristoff told her. "That should hold until we get to my family."

"They can heal that?" Elsa asked, pointing to the cut.

"Kind of…" He said. "They can speed up the healing process." Elsa nodded her understanding.

"So, what happened?" Elsa asked curiously.

Kristoff briefly relayed how he was injured and how he escaped. Elsa listened silently, biting down on her bottom lip.

"I'm sorry." She said, slowly shaking her head. She couldn't believe all the trouble she had caused.

"You apologize for the strangest things." Kristoff shook his head.

"What?" Elsa asked, taken aback by his statement.

"Nothing." He said quickly. "Just, I chose to jump out and deal with that guy. It was the least I could do and you shouldn't have to apologize for that, ok?"

Elsa nodded, not used to someone doing anything other than blame her. She had to admit that she was moved by everything he had done for her. He had fed her, given her hope that she could reverse the winter, saved her life and even got injured in the process.

"Thank you, Kristoff." She said, smiling softly.

"Anything for a friend, Elsa." Kristoff smiled, glad that things between them seemed to be less awkward.

"Are we friends?" Elsa asked, gazing up at him. She hadn't had a friend since Anna had been cut out of her life.

Kristoff turned to face her and saw how vulnerable she looked. It was almost as if she was afraid he's take back the sentiment.

"I'd like to be your friend." Kristoff assured her. "If you want to."

"I do." Elsa whispered.

"Well it's settled then." Kristoff nodded.

They traveled in silence for a time, the sun beginning to set. Drained from the day's events, Elsa felt her eyelids droop.

"You should sleep." Kristoff suggested. "You know, if you're tired. We're still a ways out."

"No, I'm fine." Elsa lied, sitting up straighter.

As tired as she was, Elsa didn't want to sleep. With everything that had happened it seemed prudent to stay awake. It turned out to be a fruitless effort, however, because Elsa felt her head drooping once more while listening to the rhythmic trotting Sven was creating with his steady pace. Knowing she was fighting a losing battle, Elsa closed her eyes and couldn't even bother to care when her head rested on Kristoff's shoulder; he was just so warm.

* * *

Kristoff stiffened when he felt Elsa's head hit his shoulder. He knew she was tired but hadn't really expected this. He swallowed hard and felt his face heat up; he had never been so close to anyone who wasn't a reindeer or a troll. He glanced sideways at Elsa. In the day that he'd known her, he had seen Elsa's face show fear, sadness, and hurt but other than the one tight lipped smile she had given Sven, Kristoff had never seen the lines of her face relax.

She was really pale, he noted as he continued his observations. He could see just a few light freckles across her small nose and he could see that her eyelids were dark and she had dark circles as if she hadn't slept well for days. She had a stubborn streak too, trying to stay awake when she was so obviously tired. He hated to wake her up now that she was resting but they were nearing the valley.

"Elsa, hey." Kristoff reached over and gently prodded her. "We're almost there."

Elsa groaned, not wanting to wake up. She was just so comfortable leaning against something warm that smelled distinctly woodsy. Her eyes snapped open when she realized she was snuggling up against Kristoff.

"Oh, um, sorry." She flushed, embarrassed.

"It's ok." Kristoff assured her. "It's just that we're here."

"We are?" Elsa asked surprised. Kristoff pointed to the opening of a small valley, Sven leading them in but beginning to slow. "What's going on?"

"The snow is melting the closer we get to the valley; it's over a hot spring." Kristoff explained. "I think the sled will melt if we get any closer. We should unhitch Sven and walk from here."

Kristoff jumped down and quickly undid Sven's harness, letting the reindeer roam free. Kristoff grabbed everything from the bed of the sled, stuffing most of it into his pack but stopped when he saw that Elsa was still sitting in the sled.

Elsa was looking around, vaguely remembering the place. Tall peaks masked the small entrance, green moss covering the rocks. Elsa had been so scared for Anna that she hardly remembered anything from that night past her father's anger and her sister's cold body. The trolls themselves had left an impression, sure, but it was her father that had spoken mostly to them, Elsa hiding behind him. The troll had only spoken briefly to tell her to learn to control her powers and then he had erased Anna's memories.

"What's wrong?" Kristoff frowned.

"Just nervous, I guess." She replied. "Last time I was here was one of the worst days of my life."

"I don't really know how to respond to that." Kristoff quipped, trying to lighten her mood.

Elsa chuckled. "I hadn't really expected you to." She wasn't even sure about why she had admitted that in the first place. Her thoughts just seemed to spill out around Kristoff.

"Well, why don't we just take it one step at a time?" He offered her his hand to help her out of the sled.

"That sounds good." Elsa gave a shy smile as she placed her hand in his gloved one and allowed him to support her as she hopped out of the sled to reach the ground.

* * *

**Next chapter soon. :)**


	19. Chapter 19

**Author's Note:**

**So... updates are going to slow considerably from here. Probably for a few weeks because I am officially in the middle of moving. It gets hard to write when you work full-time and then you have to pack and clean. Ugh. I still have plans for this story so don't think for one second that I am abandoning it. **

**I do not own frozen**

* * *

Chapter 19

Kristoff was used to the heat that surrounded the Valley of the Living Rock but after the contrast of the unexpected winter he was getting uncomfortable. As the trio entered further, Kristoff removed his hat and his gloves, stuffing them into his bag. He glanced towards Elsa who was glancing around nervously and looking flushed.

"Are you ok?" He asked her, a bit concerned.

"It's just warm." She replied.

"What, are you gonna melt?" He laughed.

"Possibly." She smiled, responding to his teasing.

"Just out of curiosity, what do you usually do during the summer?" He asked.

"Stay inside mostly." She answered thoughtfully. "It hasn't really been an issue since my father never really let me leave my bedroom."

"He didn't _let _you leave?" Kristoff asked, not liking the implication that her father had kept her locked up.

Elsa simply shrugged, not wanting to talk about it anymore. Kristoff could sense her closing off again so he let the issue drop now that they reached a round clearing with large rocks spread out along the ground.

"Ok, just a warning." Kristoff held up his arm to halt Elsa's progress. "My family's great and they mean well but the can be totally loud and inappropriate."

"Oh, well. I'm sure it will be fine." Elsa said puzzled by the seriousness of his tone.

"Alright, well I warned you." He said incredulously before stepping up to the stones. "Hey, guys. Wake up. I need your help."

Nothing happened as Kristoff went up to several stones, addressing them individually. Enough time had passed that Elsa was beginning to doubt if these were really the trolls when the ground began to shake. The stones rolled and quivered before revealing small arms and legs with a bulbous head that Elsa had seen once before. The trolls clamored around Kristoff with small cheers for his return until one noticed the blood on his arm.

"Kristoff! What happened?" A female troll gasped.

"It's just a scratch but could you help me with that?" He asked, kneeling down to her level.

"Yes, but what happened?" The troll demanded.

"It's nothing. Just a scuffle." Kristoff's eyes cut to Elsa. "But we have a problem. Where's Grand Pabbie?"

"I'll get him!" A small troll volunteered. The little one leaped and rolled away from the crowd.

"Kristoff, who's this?" A small voice asked.

20 pairs of eyes turned away from Kristoff to stare at Elsa. She looked down to where the voice had sounded to see a young troll pointing up at her. Elsa looked towards Kristoff, hoping he could read the plea for help in her eyes when another voice called out.

"Kristoff brought a girl home!" One of them yelled.

"Yay! A girl!" The rest cheered together.

The trolls rushed her and Elsa felt little hands lift her from the ground and pass her towards Kristoff. Surprised by the sudden movement, she gasped and her powers flared.

"Ow! She's cold!" A deep voice complained. Suddenly, Elsa was tossed into Kristoff's arms and he smiled apologetically.

"What's going on?" She asked, a bit startled by the troll's actions.

"I told you." He reminded her as he set her on her feet.

"Hello, dear! I'm Bulda." The female troll said as she jumped up to stand on top of another troll. "This is Cliff."

"Hello, I'm-" Elsa was interrupted when Bulda grabbed her face.

"oh dear, you've got dark circles. Are you sure you're getting enough sleep?" Bulda asked before opening the girl's mouth and looking in. "Strong teeth, though. Well, Cliff, I think she'll do nicely for Kristoff."

Finally understanding what she was saying, Kristoff interrupted. "No! No no no! Mom, no! We are not together! We're just friends."

"Yeah, not together!" Elsa emphasized, shaking her head. "Just friends."

"Well, why not?" Bulda asked, smiling and adopting a singing voice. "Is it the clumpy way he walks?"

"Is it the grumpy way he talks?" Cliff added, crooning.

"Wait, why are they rhyming?" Elsa whispered so only Kristoff could hear her.

"Oh no." Kristoff hid his face in his hands. "This happens sometimes; they break into song."

"Break into _song_?" Elsa exclaimed. Kristoff nodded.

"It's a troll thing; them being magical and all." He shrugged.

"What's the matter dear? Don't you like music?" Bulda asked.

"Of course I do! Uh, please, continue." Elsa assured the troll, embarrassed.

"Nah, moment's past." Bulda shrugged and hoped down off of Cliff.

"Oh thank god!" Kristoff muttered. "But, really, we have a problem and we need to see Grand Pabbie."

"Here he is!" Someone shouted.

The crowd parted as another troll rolled forward. He was distinctly older than the others and wore a grass cape. Elsa recognized him as the troll that had helped her family in the past. He nodded at Kristoff before gazing up at Elsa.

"I would recognize that magic anywhere." Grand Pabbie bowed his head. "It has been awhile, hasn't it, Queen Elsa of Arendelle?"

"The Queen! It's the Queen!" The trolls muttered and exclaimed at the news.

"Yes it has." Elsa answered solemnly, her mind flashing back to the last time. "I've got a problem I was hoping you could help me with."

"_Queen_?" Kristoff repeated, dumbstruck.

"Sorry." Elsa winced, shooting her friend an apologetic glance.

"Kristoff, why didn't you tell me that she was the Queen?" Bulda hissed in his ear. "I put my fingers in the woman's mouth, Kristoff!"

"I didn't know." He replied.

Kristoff stared at Elsa who simply flushed in response. He couldn't believe that he had been traveling around all this time with the Queen. Granted, she had been Queen for less than a week, but still. He had attacked her, made her craft him a new sled, and fed her his leftovers with carrots usually reserved for his reindeer.

"Why didn't you tell me?" He asked her, slightly hurt.

"I didn't think it was important." She shrugged. "I had already told you my name. I thought you would have figured it out."

"Do you know how many 'Elsa's there are?" He sighed and she shook her head. "It's popular to name your kid after royalty. I've met, like, 20 of them!"

"Really?" She asked, surprised. Kristoff leveled a glare at her.

"Elsa, you said you had a problem?" Pabbie interrupted their banter. "Does it have anything to do with the unnatural winter?"

She nodded. "That was an accident. I just couldn't keep it in anymore. My sister… Well, my sister and I had an argument and no matter how hard I tried to suppress my emotions, I ended up revealing my powers at my Coronation. Everyone was afraid, so I ran, and everything froze."

"Keep it in?" The older troll asked. "Dear, have you been trying to suppress your magic all these years?"

"Well, yes." She answered sadly. "Isn't that what you meant when you said I have to control it? My father had me stay away from people and told me not to feel."

"No!" He croaked, hopping up and down. "Suppression is not the same as control; I thought the King knew that. Magic must be exercised and understood. If not, the magic builds up until it breaks out everywhere! When the magic is connected to emotions as yours is, it is important to have control so that you can feel free to experience your emotions without fear of the magic running loose."

"I never learned." Elsa whispered. "My father didn't…"

"It's obviously not your fault." Grand Pabbie said kindly, sensing the girl's pain. "I will help you, come."

"Kristoff?" Bulda tugged on his pants. "We should do something about your arm, before it gets infected."

"Sure. You ok here?" He asked. Leaving Elsa alone with his family made him uneasy.

"Yes." Elsa answered.

"Ok, I'll be back." He repeated and followed Bulda away.

His adoptive mother lead him away from the gathering area to the small hollow nearby where Bulda and Cliff had set up Kristoff's things. Trolls could sleep anywhere and barely had any personal items but there had to be a small area for Kristoff to stay and keep some clothes when he came home.

"So you're just friends, huh?" Bulda asked sarcastically once they were out of earshot.

"Yes, we're just friends." He huffed.

"That's not what I saw." Bulda smirked as she gathered everything she would need to heal him and shook her head as she threw various plants into a bowl and crushed it into a paste. "You usually hate helping people."

Kristoff rolled his eyes. "I didn't just do this for her, you know. I am trying to unfreeze the country. You know, for my ice business."

"Don't get me wrong, honey; I' proud of you. And if anyone needs a few healing hugs, it's that girl. I'm just surprised. You knew she had the ice powers but you didn't know she was the Queen?"

"Nobody knew the Queen of Arendelle had ice powers! No one's seen her in years." Kristoff rolled his eyes.

"No, but you saw her the night you came to us." Bulda reminded him.

"What?" Kristoff scoffed.

"Boy, do you seriously not remember?" Bulda put her hands on her hips. "You followed in the old king and queen and they had the princesses with them! They were here because of Elsa's powers."

"I remember following a family into the valley. I was interested because there was ice on the ground." Kristoff shook his head as the memories resurfaced. "I didn't know they were the royal family, though. Then I was mostly concerned with the magical trolls! And then you brought Sven and I here and stuffed us full of food. I have to say that it was the promise of a family that stuck with me over the family that had lead me here."

"I suppose that a new family is enough to distract anyone." Bulda smiled softly. The troll laughed at her memories as she dipped bandages into her concoction. "But you're blind if you think that's all there is. Now take off your shirt."

"Whatever." He grumbled as he removed his vest and shirt. He quickly undid the bandage Elsa had covered the wound with, wincing when the bandage separated from his skin. "It's not like anything could happen anyways."

"Why do you say that?" Bulda asked. He didn't speak for a moment as she put the soggy bandages over the cut.

"Much better." He sighed in relief as the solution worked its way into the wound, speeding up the healing process.

"Now, why couldn't something happen?" Bulda pressed, folding his ruined clothes.

"Well, she's the Queen." He pointed out.

"Kristoff, that's not a real reason. Love looks beyond labels." She countered, rolling her eyes. She tied a clean bandage over the entire dressing. "Leave that on for the rest of the day, dear. Now what other reason could there possibly be?"

"Well, there's the issue that she probably doesn't like me." He snapped, ruffling his hair.

"Why on earth wouldn't she like you?" She said disbelievingly. Kristoff gulped.

"Maybe because I tried to kill her." He purposefully whispered, hoping she wouldn't hear him.

"You did WHAT?" Bulda shouted, putting her hands on her hips.

"I tried to attack her, alright? I thought she was evil and I tried to kill her to bring back summer!" He admitted.

"What is the matter with you!?" Bulda slapped him in the back of the head.

"Ow, hey! Concussion!" He exaggerated, pretending to feel the back of his head for blood. "I already said I was sorry and I brought her all the way here to try and make up for it. But I still feel horribly about it."

"Look, Kristoff…" She sighed. "Things may have gotten off to a rough start but don't count yourself out just yet, ok?" She handed him a clean shirt and his fur insulated vest.

Kristoff nodded, his thoughts drifting back to Elsa. He wanted to get back to her and start making a plan. What his adoptive mother said next, however, got his attention back.

"I mean, you two would make me some beautiful grand babies!" She exclaimed.

"What? No!" Kristoff jumped up, horrified. "I'm done with this conversation. Just done."

He strode back to the main clearing, still holding his clothes, his mother laughing in the background.

* * *

**Ok, so here are the trolls. Kristoff doesn't really remember seeing Elsa all those years ago. None of the trolls remembered Anna in the movie so I figured they wouldn't immediately recognize Elsa. Grand Pabbie would remember though. **

**Next chapter is as soon as I can find the time to write. See you next time.**


	20. Chapter 20

**Author's Note:**

**Thanks for hanging in there guys. Here is a new chapter :)**

**I do not own Frozen**

* * *

Chapter 20

Elsa tried to focus on what Grand Pabbie was saying but she was having difficulty. He was telling her to release her control on her emotions but unlearning 13 years of behavior in an hour was impossible. She was trying to get a quick lesson in thawing her ice so she had created a block of ice which was steadily melting due to the heat from the hot springs.

"No, Elsa, you must feel it!" He was chiding her. "Remember, fear freezes, love thaws!"

"You keep saying that but that doesn't make sense." Elsa huffed.

"My dear, it makes perfect sense, you are just not keeping up." Grand Pabbie quipped and Elsa raised one eyebrow in response.

"Oh really?" She asked, slightly affronted as his jibe.

Grand Pabbie shook his grassy head. "To thaw, you must focus on positive feelings. Love and happiness, Elsa. Focus on those and you will be able to harness your powers."

Elsa scowled. That was easy for him to say; Elsa was having trouble remembering anything but the events of the last few days. Besides, she didn't have very many happy memories to draw from. Grand Pabbie sighed.

"Elsa, I know this is hard." He handed her a small wooden cup. "Here drink this and take a moment."

"How's it going?" Kristoff asked distractedly as he came around the corner.

"Terrible." Elsa answered, turning towards him and lifting the makeshift cup to her mouth to take a drink of water. Her eyes widened as she took in Kristoff standing there without a shirt and spit the water out and spraying him in surprise.

"Whoa!" Kristoff jumped away from the spray. "What are you doing?"

"Sorry!" Elsa blushed, turning her back on him. "But why aren't you wearing a shirt?!"

"Oh, that?" Kristoff shrugged on his shirt and vest. "I just left in a hurry. How's it going?"

Elsa didn't answer him right away. She was blushing harder than she ever had; her face was bright red. Seeing her friend without a shirt was shocking as it was the first time she had seen any man in less than a full state of dress. She tried to shake the image from her head but it seemed branded into her mind.

"We're making some progress it seems." Grand Pabbie announced.

"What?" Elsa faced the troll.

"You melted the ice." He pointed at the puddle of water that was on the floor.

"I didn't do that." Elsa denied. "It must have been the hot springs."

"No, it happened when-" Grand Pabbie was interrupted when a voice shouted from over the hill.

"Elsaaaaa!"

"Wait, what is that?" Elsa squinted in the direction of the new voice. Trying to see who was calling for her.

"Elsaaaa!" Again the voice called.

"Is that… a snowman?" Kristoff asked.

"Elsaaa!" Olaf had now spotted Elsa and was scurrying up to her.

"I take it you two are acquainted?" Kristoff scoffed.

"Well, I made him." Elsa answered distractedly.

"Obviously." Kristoff deadpanned. "Seriously, do not get sarcasm?" She glared at him.

"Elsa, it's me, Olaf!" The snowman huffed and wheezed. "Oh geez, I'm out of shape."

"Olaf, how did you find me?" Elsa wondered. "I thought you were with Anna?"

"I was but something happened. So I came to find you. I just knew I'd found you." Olaf smiled at his creator.

"Now this is interesting." Grand Pabbie said, looking the Snowman up and down.

"What is?" Kristoff asked wandering over to the group.

"Well this creature, Olaf, did you say?" The troll looked to Elsa who nodded. "It's obvious that you created him with your magic but he is special."

"Special? I'm special?" Olaf asked, smiling.

"How so?" Elsa looked questioningly at Grand Pabbie.

"First of all, his snow is special." Pabbie reached out to touch Olaf on the shoulder. "We are on top of a hot springs yet he doesn't melt. It's because he is infused with your magic; it's how he could probably sense you. He probably would need some help when summer returns but he is doing well enough now. Second, he has a complete personality. Magically created golems usually do not take on personalities and know nothing beyond what they were created for. To protect, to destroy, you get the idea."

"Like Marshmallow. He isn't as…" Kristoff searched for the right words. "Developed as this one seems."

"Eventually, the golems fade but Olaf won't." Grand Pabbie told them. "Olaf was formed with your feelings and memories. Isn't that right, Olaf?"

"Yeah!" Olaf exclaimed. "I can remember lots of stuff about Elsa and Anna! That's how I knew Anna when I saw her!"

"Olaf is a complete being, an extension of you." Pabbie concluded. He looked at Elsa, impressed. "You must have poured a lot of yourself into him to achieve this."

"Uh, thanks." Elsa smiled. She turned to Olaf. "Olaf, why aren't you with Anna?"

"Um, something happened." The little snowman fidgeted.

"What happened?" Elsa pressed, placing a hand on Olaf's head.

"Well, um…" Olaf faltered. He was visibly nervous now and it was causing Elsa's heart to beat faster.

"Olaf, please!" Elsa exclaimed, her anxiety rising.

"Anna is in trouble. You kind of hit her in the heart with ice, and her and Hans have been thrown in the dungeon, and now people are coming to kill you!" Olaf explained in a rush.

"What?" Elsa gasped and released the snowman as if burned.

"This is very serious." Grand Pabbie croaked. "If Princess Anna has ice in her heart, then she does not have much time left. You need to remove the ice from her heart or else she will perish."

"What! I can't remove it, I can't even thaw a block of ice!" Elsa snapped.

"If the ice is not removed, your sister will turn to solid ice, I'm afraid." Pabbie explained.

"No!" Elsa cried.

She started hyperventilating. How could this be happening? Elsa thought Anna was fine last time she saw her. The wind was picking up again, making many of the trolls shiver and burrow underneath the ground. Only Elsa, Kristoff, Olaf, and Grand Pabbie stayed above ground. Snow was beginning to fall but would evaporate as soon as it touched the ground due to the heat of the hot springs.

"Elsa, calm down. We can find a way to figure this out." Kristoff assured her but Elsa wasn't listening.

"Anna, no. What have I done?" Elsa covered her face with her hands.

Kristoff knew his friend was losing it. Elsa was giving in to her negative emotions and letting her powers run rampant. He looked to Grand Pabbie who was trying to shield himself against the cold. Little Olaf was trying to hold on to his stick hair and coal buttons as the wind whipped around them. Not bothering to think about what he was doing, Kristoff strode forward and wrapped Elsa in a hug.

Elsa stiffened, the physical contact jarring her from her tormenting thoughts. Kristoff hugging her was completely unexpected; she hadn't experienced this in 13 years. The last time she had received a hug was the night she had hurt Anna. She had missed this, she realized. Slowly she reached up to clutch Kristoff's shirt and bury her head in his chest. She allowed herself to cry into his shirt, reveling in his warmth and comfort. All around them, the snow stopped and the winds died down.

"It will be ok, Elsa." Kristoff whispered as her cried quieted. "I promise we'll find a way to help your sister."

Elsa sniffled. "Thank you, Kristoff."

"Elsa, there is not much time if you want to stand a chance of saving your sister!" Grand Pabbie beckoned.

Kristoff sighed, reluctant to relinquish his hold on Elsa.

"I've got it under control now." Elsa said, distancing herself from him. "Thank you."

"Ok, but remember, it's not all about keeping things bottled up. It's ok to feel. You got it?" He questioned, hoping she knew that he was there if she needed him.

Elsa smiled sadly and nodded, grateful that she had met someone like him. She turned to Grand Pabbie. "So what do we do?"

"A frozen heart is very serious as the heart is not changed easily." The troll explained. "If you are unable to remove the ice with your powers, then the only way to save her is with an act of true love."

"An act of true love?" Kristoff asks skeptically. "So what like a true love kiss?"

"Love is a powerful thing and, yes, the kiss of true love is one of the most powerful acts. But it requires 2 people who are the brink of falling in love." Grand Pabbie shook his head.

"Ooh! Just like Hans and Anna!" Olaf squeaked.

"Who's Hans?" Kristoff directed his question to Elsa.

"My sister…" Elsa started but then rolled her eyes. "Anna met a Prince at my Coronation. They had known each other for only hours before she comes up and announces their _engagement_."

"What!?" Kristoff exclaimed. "She got engaged to someone she just met!?"

Elsa nodded. "Yes, they asked me for my blessing and I refused. Anna and I argued, I got upset, and that's what started all of this. When my sister came up to find me, he was with her." She put simply.

"Wow, so that's what happened." Kristoff mulled over the new information.

"Olaf, what do you know about Hans?" Elsa wondered.

"Hans is great! He worked really hard to figure out what happened to Anna and he's the one who gave me a chance to come find you!" Olaf relayed his observations. "Hans even told me that he was falling in love with Anna!"

"He did?" Elsa raised her eyebrows and Olaf nodded. Elsa was silent, processing this information. If what Olaf said was true, then Hans was Anna's best shot at saving her.

"So this guy is our best chance, then?" Kristoff confirmed. Elsa nodded. "Ok, let's get going then. Sven!"

The reindeer had been grazing nearby but looked up when Kristoff called. Sven ran up to the group as they said a quickly goodbye. They headed back to where they had left the ice sled which was now covered in a light blanket of snow. Olaf giggled as Elsa pushed him into the back while Kristoff was busy attaching Sven's harness before the two humans scrambled up on the seat.

"We ready?" Kristoff mentally checked off everyone. Since there were no objections he took the reins. "Ok, Sven, we need to get to Arendelle as quickly as possible."

Sven huffed in agreement, breaking into a run and taking them towards the castle. Kristoff noticed that Elsa was wringing her hands, the same tortured look as before in her eyes.

"Hey, don't worry." Kristoff soothed. "We'll get there in a couple of hours and find your sister."

"It's not that easy, Kristoff." Elsa shook her head. "Olaf said they were arrested, there will probably be someone guarding them."

"So we sneak up the back and blast an icy whole in the wall to get them out before rushing out of there!" Kristoff suggested. "That's probably our best bet unless we wanted to charge in from the front."

"I hope so." Elsa sighed. "Because if anything happened to Anna; I wouldn't be able to live with myself."

* * *

**See you next time :)**


	21. Chapter 21

**Author's Note:**

**Hello! Thanks for hanging in there guys! I am pretty much moved in to my new place and just got the internet connected today. So in honor of finally hooking up my wifi, here is the next chapter!**

**I don't own Frozen**

* * *

Chapter 21

"Eugene, are we going to do this or what?" Rapunzel whined.

"This sort of thing takes time." Eugene rolled his eyes. "Once the Duke leaves the castle to recruit more men we can strike."

Rapunzel scowled. They were currently exiting the dining hall after breakfast; mealtimes were one of the few times that the Duke now allowed the other visitors to leave their rooms. Eugene held his wife back as the others filed past, the Duke of Weselton among them. Every morning, the Duke would leave the castle after breakfast to visit the town. He would do everything from hand out blankets and food but his true purpose was to rouse the people against their new queen. Each day, more men joined him and prepared themselves to fight in case the queen reemerged.

It had only been one day since Princess Anna's return and subsequent imprisonment, so now the Duke was planning to spread the word of Princess Anna's bewitchment at the hands of her evil sister. That was the same story he had tried to sell to everyone this morning at breakfast when the representative from France had demanded to know why Princess Anna and Prince Hans had been thrown into the dungeons.

"I'm afraid the Prince and Princess have been enchanted." The Duke had sneered. "They were trying to belittle the winter that is causing the people to suffer. It was obvious, of course."

Enough had believed his justifications that the other representatives had sat down, afraid to go against the crowd. Now the Duke was exiting the castle, leaving everyone inside to their own devices.

"Ok, remember the plan?" Eugene asked.

Rapunzel nodded and tried to hide a smile. Walking arm in arm, the couple headed towards a staircase they knew headed towards the dungeon. They pretended to be enjoying their walk, laughing as they went. As they reached the bottom of the stair a guard blocked their path.

"Very sorry, but you'll have to return to your rooms now." The guard stated.

"Oh, I'm sorry. We were just looking to get out and about for a while." Eugene pretended to be sincere. He gave Rapunzel a subtle wink.

"Sorry, sir. But you'll have to go-." The guard started but was interrupted when Rapunzel started wailing.

"But Eugene!" She bawled, stomping her foot. The guard looked taken aback by her outburst. "I've been stuck in that room for _days_. I want to get out! Woah!" Rapunzel pretended to trip, her acting a bit too dramatic for Eugene's tastes, and fell right into the guard's arms.

"Rapunzel!" Eugene leaped forward, elbowing the guard out of the way to steady his wife.

The man huffed as Eugene pushed him away, and stepped back. Eugene proceeded to lead Rapunzel back to the main hall. Once they had made it behind the safety of their room, Rapunzel began hopping up and down.

"Did you get it?" She asked excitedly. Eugene held up a ring of keys.

"It was too easy. That guy didn't even notice when I took this from his pocket." Eugene laughed.

"And now?" Rapunzel giggled, looking eagerly at her husband.

"Now we wait for nightfall. Security will be lax and we can smuggle them out." He replied.

"I can't wait." Rapunzel gave Eugene a quick kiss before jumping onto the bed and grabbing a book.

Eugene watched as every few minutes Rapunzel looked to the clock on the mantle. He sighed, settling in beside her.

"This is going to be a long day." He muttered under his breath.

* * *

Anna shivered in the corner of her single cell. The guards had thrown her and Hans into separate cells to keep them from planning anything. The indignity of it was that they were imprisoned by several Arendelle guards; men who had protected her while growing up.

"How can you do this?" She had demanded of them.

"I'm sorry, Princess Anna. But we must think of the people. Many are suffering due to the winter your sister has cursed us with." One of them had replied guiltily.

"And you think putting us in here is the right thing to do?" Anna had snapped.

"The Duke must have a reason but we will do what we can." Another guard had said.

Anger had built up in her chest until she was thrashing in their arms, forcing them to drag her into the cell which she currently sat in. Luckily, they had given her a blanket which she was now clutching around her. There was currently a man guarding the door and she had spent the first several hours cursing at him angrily. Anna was furious at just about everybody; the guards for betraying them, the Duke for trying to weasel his way into power, Hans for getting them separated, and Elsa for causing this. It was painfully obvious to her by the way Elsa had attacked her and thrown them out that her elder sister did not care about her or Arendelle one bit.

A loud thump outside her door gained Anna's attention. She didn't want to stand and lose the meager warmth she was trying to maintain but when she heard keys giggling in the door, she scrambled to her feet and peered out of the door's small window when the door swung wide open.

"Princess Anna! Great to see you!" A young man greeted her as if they weren't meeting in a dungeon for the first time. "My name is Flynn Rider; it's a pleasure to meet you."

"Eugene!" A woman's voice floated down the hall. The man pouted momentarily.

"Alright, my name is Eugene." He admitted. "The girl standing watch for us is my wife, Princess Rapunzel. We're from Corona."

She looked Eugene up and down; he didn't dress like the husband to a princess. He was dressed in simple breeches, a plain shirt with a green vest, and clearly worn boots. He had brown hair that fell into his eyes and a small patch of hair on his chin.

"Well, thank you?" Anna replied, confused.

"You're welcome. Now if you'll excuse me, I have to let your boyfriend out." He winked and ran down the hall.

Seconds later, Eugene returned with Hans, Kai, and Gerda. Hans embraced Anna when he saw her, glad that she was still ok. Gerda, however gasped and could barely restrain herself from pointing at Anna's hair.

"Princess, your hair is completely white!" She stammered.

"What!? It is?" Anna pawed at her hair and brought the braid to her face. Sure enough, it was completely white. Anna groaned.

"It'll be ok, Anna." Hans reassured her.

Hans couldn't care less about the state of her hair but he was concerned by how cold she felt even through the thick blanket that was wrapped around her. Hans rubbed his hands on her shoulder hoping the friction would warm her up some. Anna shuddered and pulled closer to him.

"We need to go. There's still time to get to the trolls I found out about in that book." Hans stated.

"You go on." Kai told the Prince. "Gerda and I will head into the village. Maybe we can convince some of the townspeople that the Duke tried to imprison the princess in order to take the throne."

Hans nodded and watched as they escaped through a separate hallway. The rest of the group continued on.

"We were able to snag you a horse." Eugene told Hans as they ran up the dungeon stairs.

"How'd you manage that?" Anna asked suspiciously. "I would have figured that the Duke would have been taking all the horses."

"He is. But I bribed a stable hand with some cake." Rapunzel explained as the group reached her. "The boy was happy to lend me a horse for a romantic rendezvous."

"Great, who are you guys?" Hans asked, puzzled.

"I'm Rapunzel and this is my husband, Eugene." Rapunzel responded. "And, actually, I'm your cousin, Anna."

"Cousin?" Anna repeated. Rapunzel nodded.

"Yeah. It's kind of a long story." She absentmindedly tucked a stray piece of her short brown hair behind her ear. "I had hoped to talk more after the coronation but then…"

"Then the whole kingdom froze and the Duke is trying to take over?" Hans supplied.

"Yeah, that." Rapunzel agreed. "But after this whole mess is over, we'll have to get together!"

"Definitely." Anna answered distractedly.

They had managed to make it out the back of the castle where a horse was tied to a rail. Hans quickly rummaged through the saddlebags to find a blanket, some food, and even a lute. Hans looked to Rapunzel questioningly but she simply shrugged.

"I told them it was for a midnight rendezvous, remember?" She laughed.

"Nice." Hans smirked.

The darkness was making it hard to see too far in front of them and it was beginning to snow. Anna shivered violently so Hans didn't hesitate to lift Anna up onto the horse before getting on behind her. Eugene untied the horse when a door behind the group burst open.

"There they are! Stop them!" A voice snarled. The Duke and a handful of men were coming from the castle.

"You two need to get out of here before they spot you!" Hans shouted.

Eugene nodded, lifting Rapunzel from the ground and sprinting around the corner. He hoped that the guards hadn't seen them yet. Eugene set his wife down when they had turned the corner. They headed for the front entrance of the castle and hoped the guards would believe that they had been on a romantic walk in the icy moonlight.

Back on the ice, Hans urged the horse into a run and headed west. Hans hoped they could make it since everyone else was on foot but the horse wasn't used to running over the frozen fjord and slipped on the ice. The horse threw its riders forward before hitting the ground heavily. Hans groaned as his vision faded in and out. He shook his head to fix his vision before seeing Anna groaning softly a few feet from him.

"Anna!" Hans tried to scramble over to her but when he tried to stand his left leg buckled beneath him. "Anna, can you hear me?"

"Ugh, yes." She groaned.

"Anna, I think I broke my leg in the fall." He explained. He stood, careful not to put any weight on his injured leg. "We need to get you going."

"Wait, aren't you coming?" Anna struggled to get to her feet but couldn't manage to stand.

"I would just be a burden." Hans informed her, hobbling over to her. "Keep heading went and you'll be fine."

"Which way is west?" Anna asked.

"That way." Hans pointed. "Come on, you need to go. I can distract them while you get out of here."

He grunted as he lifted Anna from the ground. It was weird; she felt heavier than he remembered from earlier. Once Anna was on her feet, she tried to walk back towards where the horse was waiting but was moving slowly.

"Are you alright?" Hans wondered. "I can try to carry you."

"I'm just stiff. I'll be fine." She answered irritably, trying to keep up.

Hans chose not to press the issue but he had a feeling she wasn't fine. The snow was picking up and Anna needed to make it to the cover of the forest. Hans was trying to boost Anna back on the horse but the Duke and 3 men had caught up to them. Putting Anna back on the ground, Hans tried to figure a way to get her away from here.

"Not so fast, you two!" He huffed, clearly out of breath. "You're surrounded!"

"I figured that, you foul, loathsome, little-." Anna was stopped mid-insult by Hans clamping his hand over her mouth.

"Perhaps this isn't the time, Anna." Hans warned. He lowered his voice to speak only to her. "Remember, head west. Look for the trolls. Get ready to go."

The Duke snapped his fingers towards one of his henchmen, gesturing for him to contain them. The tallest man stepped forward, smiling slightly. Knowing that he was running out of time, Hans boosted Anna the rest of the way up onto the horse while reaching into the saddlebag to close his hand around the only object he could use as a weapon: the lute. Hans swung his makeshift weapon, catching his pursuer in the head.

"Anna, go!" He yelled, hitting the burly man a second time, knocking him out.

Knowing that there was nothing she could do to help him, Anna snapped the reigns and urged the horse forward, heading into the darkness.

* * *

**Updates will still be sparse as I try to unpack but the next one will be soon.**


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